You Are Insane
by oneanddonekindofgirl
Summary: Collection of Gail/Holly prompt fills from tumblr. I just need a place to keep them organized. Each chapter is an unrelated oneshot unless otherwise noted.
1. I Love You

**PROMPT: "QUICK! We need fluff! Can you drabble the first "I love you"'s? "**

Gail fidgeted as she sat on Holly's couch, nestled into one corner as she waited for her girlfriend to return with their drinks. It had been just over two months since their reconciliation and tentative reset of their relationship. It had been a bit awkward at first, but that had quickly passed and they'd fallen easily back into the way it had been before.

It had been two months (more if you counted the time before the breakup), and Gail was tired of holding it in. It was weird, really, how she'd awoken in Holly's arms just that morning and studied her as she slept, soft rays of morning sunlight falling across her slumbering form. She'd never been one for the creepy 'stare at someone while they sleep' bit, but she couldn't help it; Holly was beautiful. But nature had called and ruined the moment. As Gail had been washing her hands in the bathroom, she'd caught sight of her face in the mirror. She was all… smiley and glow-y.

_Oh, shit_, she'd thought to herself. _I'm in love_. Which is an odd think to be surprised about, when she really thought about it. She'd been in love with the other woman before they'd even properly kissed. Not that she would have admitted it at the time, of course. But that was why Holly's "fun" comment had stung so much.

Gail had said the three little words before. And at the time, she'd meant them. Or she thought she had. But she'd never felt quite like this before. Is this what it was supposed to actually feel like? If she was forced to spend more than one night away from the forensic pathologist, she got cranky (er, crankier than usual) and counted down the hours until she got to see her again. The four days that Holly had been away for a conference in New York had been torture. Thank god for Skype.

And the nights they were together were something out of a cheesy romance novel. And it wasn't just the sex, though it was also vastly more intense and intimate than she'd experienced with previous partners. No, it was just being in Holly's presence that made her turn into some mushy, alternate version of herself. Or, maybe this was just her, stripped of all her outer roughness. Maybe it was just her in real, actual love.

Holly returned then with beverages, handing Gail a glass as she sat on the couch next to her. Gail took a sip, hoping it would calm her nerves so she could be eloquent.

"I love you."

_So much for elegance_, Gail thought as her eyes widened in surprise before she shifted her gaze to study the amber liquid of her drink. The words had just tumbled out of her mouth without her brain's permission. Well, it was out there now. There was no going back.

A few seconds passed, making Gail cringe. Suddenly, Holly laughed, and Gail looked up in surprise. "You're _laughing_?" she asked incredulously. She made a move to stand and find a corner in which to lick her wounds, but Holly gripped her wrist to keep her in place.

"No, wait. I already knew that, dummy," Holly rushed out. "You just looked so shocked and cute all nervous and I couldn't help but laugh."

Gail glared at her for the 'cute' comment, but didn't speak. Holly grabbed both their drinks and placed them on the coffee table before cupping Gail's cheeks and kissing her slowly, moving her lips over Gail's, tangling their tongues together.

Holly pulled back and placed her forehead on Gail's, making sure their eyes met so Gail would know she was serious.

"I love you, too."


	2. Plus One Forever

**PROMPT: "Gail/Holly prompt. Gail needs a last minute plus one again. And she remembers Holly telling her "plus one forever." And even though they aren't together anymore, Gail asks anyways."**

Gail scowled at the calendar on her phone, noting the block of color scheduled for the following day. She'd forgotten all about her cousin's wedding. She'd never really gotten along with her cousin David. But he was family and she was expected to be there.

She'd received the invitation in the mail shortly before she'd started a romantic relationship with Holly. And of course, she'd RSVP'd in the affirmative and added a plus one. She'd intended on bringing Holly again. Even though they hadn't been dating yet. Holly had even joked about stealing more champagne and seeking another closet to escape to. Gail had wondered if she would kiss her again.

Fuck. Now she had no one to bring. No one with which she wanted to spend the day pretending to be happy for her cousin with his blissful happiness and all that shit.

She groaned and tossed her phone on the desk in front of her, rubbing her tired eyes, uncaring that her mascara was surely smudging. Who was she trying to impress anyway?

"Have you found anything connecting our suspect to Sarah Jensen yet?"

Gail blinked her eyes open and noticed Traci standing near, looking down at her. She shook her head. "Nothing in his phone records yet but I'm still combing through them. Dov is looking through his financials now."

Traci nodded. "Alright, keep looking. There's gotta be something." She turned to walk away.

Gail sighed but sat up, intending to get back to work. An idea struck her. "Hey, Trace, do you have plans for tomorrow?" she called out.

Traci turned back to face Gail. "I'm taking Leo to his hockey tournament in Mississauga. Why?"

Gail shook her head. "No reason. Don't worry about it."

Traci grabbed a nearby chair and rolled it over to the end of Gail's desk. She sat and regarded Gail carefully, noting the dark circles under her eyes that she'd tried unsuccessfully to hide with concealer. "You okay?"

Gail nodded. "Yeah, it's just this stupid wedding I forgot I have to go to tomorrow, and I don't have a plus one even though I RSVP'd plus one. My mother would just take that as a sign that I'm lonely and need to be set up with a long line of loser bachelors again."

Traci hummed. "Why did you RSVP plus one then?"

Gail pursed her lips and slumped back in her chair. "Because when I RSVP'd plus one I had a plus one."

"Ah," Traci said, nodding. "Holly?"

Gail shrugged.

"Have you talked to her recently? Since the morgue last week?"

Gail shook her head. "Nope." She looked anywhere but at Traci. "And before you ask, no, I can't just ask her because she has a new girlfriend, so, you know, I'm not on her radar any more."

Traci shot her eyebrows upwards. "Didn't she say that she was 'seeing someone'?"

Gail grunted. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder, Trace. I'd forgotten all about that."

Traci shook her head. "No, what I meant was that 'seeing someone' and 'girlfriend' are two different things. For all you know she could have meant she had some blind date that didn't go well or something."

Gail huffed but didn't reply.

Traci reached out and squeezed Gail's forearm. "Maybe just ask? It won't hurt to ask."

Gail looked at her friend. "It'll hurt if she says no. Or worse, ignores me altogether. Which is a very real possibility. She kinda hates me."

"I doubt she hates you," Traci reassured her. "In fact, I'm pretty sure she still has strong feelings for you." She stood and gave Gail a stern look. "Call her."

Gail just waved a dismissive hand. She had phone records to comb through.

By the time her shift ended at 7 that evening, Gail gave in. She sat on the hard metal bench in the locker room, unlocked her phone, and opened iMessage. She started a new conversation.

_G: You said plus one forever. Did you mean it?_

Before she could lose her nerve, she hit send and put the phone on the bench as she changed back into her street clothes. Just as she was pulling her sweater over her head, her phone buzzed and her heart raced. She refused to acknowledge the way her hand trembled as she reached for the phone.

_H: Of course._

Gail sat on the bench, staring at the screen. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out her next message.

_G: Tomorrow, 2pm Windsor Arms Hotel?_

Holly's reply came almost instantaneously.

_H: I remember._

Gail gave a confused look at Holly's reply. What did that mean? Before she could ask, Holly sent another message.

_H: I'll make sure to bring extra cash to tip the coat check girl. Since you always forget._

Gail couldn't stop the smile that broke out on her face as she remembered handing an entire five dollar note to Holly at Frank and Noelle's wedding.

She didn't know what was going to happen, but Holly hadn't ignored her. And she hadn't said no. That had to mean something, right?

Traci studied Gail from the doorway. She'd been watching her for the last couple of minutes, knowing exactly who had captured her attention on her phone. There was a reason she'd pushed Gail so hard to contact Holly.

The previous evening, she'd happened upon the good doc at The Penny, nursing a drink and looking all kinds of sad. She'd grown used to that look on Gail the last few weeks. She'd suddenly been glad Gail had been on a steakout assignment and couldn't make it out that night.

So she'd slid into the barstool next to Holly, ordered a drink, and sat there in silence. As she'd expected, Holly had started talking, asking how Gail was and then rambling about how she'd told Gail she was seeing someone when really it had been one dumb blind date that she hadn't even wanted to go on. But she had because she was tired of being sad and her colleague wouldn't stop pestering her about it. But it had only made her more sad because she couldn't stop thinking about Gail.

It was obvious to Traci that Holly had had a couple drinks before she'd say down, but she'd let her talk, realizing there was still hope for her friend's happiness.

So when Gail had mentioned her plus one problem earlier, she'd seen her chance and taken it.

Looks like her efforts had paid off.


	3. Peanut Butter

**PROMPT: Gail/Holly – ****write something with Gail and Holly and peanut butter.**

Gail double checked her reflection in the mirror one last time, ensuring that her makeup was decent. She stood in front of Holly's bathroom sink as she got ready for her shift, already wishing it was over so she could return to Holly's for their long-awaited 90's movie marathon.

Sighing, she left the bathroom and made her way downstairs where she knew Holly was waiting for. "I'm really jealous of you right now," Gail whined as she entered the kitchen, bag in hand. She placed it on the countertop of the center island with a thud.

"Yes, I know I'm awesome, but not everyone can rise to this level of awesomeness," Holly responded as she leaned against the countertop by the sink, voice muffled.

Gail snorted. "You wish you were as awesome as me," she countered. "I meant that I'm jealous that you have the entire day off while I have to go out and be all awesome and try not to get spit on by angry drunks." It was then that Gail finally looked up and realized just why her girlfriend's voice had sounded so weird. In her hand, she held an open jar of peanut butter, a spoonful of the gooey concoction in her mouth. "Really? Just right out of the jar?"

Holly grinned around the spoon, then pulled the piece of silverware out, ensuring all the peanut butter was captured by her tongue. "Best way to enjoy one of nature's most delicious creations," she retorted, dipping the spoon back into the jar for more.

"And you're double dipping?" Gail asked in mock exasperation. "Also, aren't there, like, tons of artificial preservatives and crap in that stuff? Can you really call that nature's creation?" She looked at Holly in amusement.

Holly shook her head, swallowed the spoonful, and turned the jar so Gail could read the label. "This is _natural_ peanut butter. So suck it."

Gail barked out a laugh as she crossed the kitchen and planted her lips on Holly's, kissing her with vigor. She smacked her lips as she pulled back. "Mmm. You taste delicious."

"Because peanut butter is delicious."

Gail shook her head. "Nope, I'm pretty sure it's you, dork."


	4. Twins!

**PROMPT: Gail and Holly have been married for a while now and have been trying to have a baby. Finally Holly is pregnant. At the hospital they get a shock when they find out they're having twins and Gail faints.**

The day that Holly discovered she was pregnant, Gail started painting the nursery.

"How do you know it's a girl?" Holly asked as she leaned against the door jam, taking in the light purple walls.

Gail shrugged. "Gut instinct. But if it's a boy, he can just have purple walls. Boys can like purple." She placed her paint roller into the metal paint tray and moved to stand in front of her wife of just over three years, hands coming to rest on Holly's still flat tummy. She looked downwards in awe, thinking about the tiny creature growing inside Holly.

It had taken five rounds of Reciprocal IVF treatments for that little plus to appear on the home pregnancy test. Holly had already set up an appointment with the OB/GYN for the following morning.

At twelve weeks, they were scheduled for the first ultrasound. Gail had made sure to ask to be able to leave work early so she could make the appointment at two in the afternoon. And of course some jackass had decided to resist arrest and run just as she was about to head back to the station to get changed and head to the doctor's office downtown.

So, instead of being able to change and make her way leisurely to the appointment, she had to have Andy drop her off in front of the building, still in uniform, suspect still in the back seat. She was ten minutes late and Holly wasn't answering her phone. (She'd probably left it at home or in her office; she'd been experiencing a lot of 'pregnancy brain' recently.)

She knew from previous visits that the elevator was ridiculously slow, so she took the stairs two at a time up to the fourth floor. She raced into the waiting area of Dr. Ellis' office, out of breath, and ran up to the receptionist's desk.

"Hi, Gail," Liz, the desk clerk, said. "They're already back in exam room 3. Go on back."

"Thanks, Liz," Gail said, rushing towards the room. She was panting as she reached the door, knocking before opening it. "I'm so sorry," she said as she stumbled into the room, face flushed. "There was a suspect and he decided he was going to be a jerk." She stepped up to Holly's side as she lay on the exam table, stomach already bared. "Hi." She leaned down to kiss her softly.

"Hey," Holly replied, smiling broadly. "It's okay. You're here."

"You bet I am," Gail reasoned with a smile. She looked up at Dr. Ellis, who was holding the ultrasound wand in her hand. "Did I miss anything?"

Dr. Ellis shook her head, smiling at Gail. "We were just talking about her cravings and moods," she said as she grabbed the bottle of ultrasound gel. "We were stalling a bit because Holly was certain you were just running a bit late." She chuckled. "She was right."

Holly grinned and grabbed Gail's hand, squeezing tightly. Gail squeezed back.

"Ready?" Dr. Ellis said, holding the bottle over Holly's stomach, which was slightly rounded.

Holly nodded, inhaling sharply when the cool gel hit her warm flesh. Then Dr. Ellis placed the wand on her stomach and moved it around as she looked at the screen. "Okay, here we go," she said, pointing to the screen. "There's baby."

Gail felt the burn of tears in her eyes at the sight. It was little more than a few inches long, but had the definite human shape. She met Holly's eyes, equally damp with tears. "That's our baby," Gail whispered, nuzzling her face against Holly's shoulder.

Holly kissed her wife, cupping her cheek tenderly.

Dr. Ellis looked on with a wide smile. She absolutely loved giving couples as wonderful and deserving as these women the chance to be parents. It was obvious that they would give this child a happy, stable home full of love.

Returning her attention to the screen, Dr. Ellis cocked her head at the image on the screen and moved the wand a bit. She chuckled. "Well, would look at that," she said.

Gail and Holly looked up. "What is it?" Gail asked, worried something was wrong.

Dr. Ellis pointed at the screen again. "It seems baby has company," she explained, looking back at them. "Holly, you're carrying twins."

"Twins?" Holly repeated, as if the concept were foreign.

Gail just blinked, panic overcoming her. Oh god, twins? Like, as in, _two_ babies?! She'd been anxious enough about caring for one baby, but _two_? She stood up straight, perhaps a bit too quickly, because suddenly her vision darkened and the room spun as a bout of vertigo overcame her. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor with Dr. Ellis looking down at her, a concerned look on her face.

"Gail, can you hear me?" Dr. Ellis asked, holding Gail's head in place.

"Yeah," Gail groaned out. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Holly said from the exam table, looking nervous.

"I did?" Gail asked, incredulous. She'd never fainted before. She tried to sit up, wanting to reassure Holly.

"No, no, just stay still for a minute," Dr. Ellis said. "You may have hit your head on the ground. I need to check for a concussion."

"I'm okay," Gail insisted. "Really. I've had a concussion before. I feel fine."

"You sure?" Dr. Ellis said.

Gail nodded and stood with the doctor's help. She stepped to Holly's side and kissed her forehead. "I'm okay," she promised.

"I'm going to step out and give you two a moment," Dr. Ellis said. "And get you some water," she said to Gail as she left the room.

Holly searched Gail's expression, looking for signs of distress. "Are you okay with this?" she asked, indicating her stomach.

She looked so anxious that Gail felt bad. She kissed her. "It just took me by surprise," she explained. "I was already lightheaded from chasing a suspect for nearly a mile and then running up four flights of stairs. I'm probably dehydrated. And then I started thinking about how much we have to do get prepare for two babies and I got overwhelmed…" she trailed off. "I'm sorry. I'm okay. We'll figure it all out."

Holly pulled her in for another kiss. "I know we will. We'll be awesome parents. _You_ will be an awesome parent."

"I know," Gail said, giving her a smile. Then she gasped. "Oh, my god, we're gonna need a bigger house!"


	5. Fake Dating

**PROMPT: Fake dating!**

_(Note: this is an AU set post-4x10 in a world where 4x12 never happens.)_

Holly groaned as she read the text message she'd just received. Gail looked up at her from across the table at The Penny where they'd met for a drink after work. "Something wrong?" she asked, sipping her drink.

Holly nodded, then shook her head. "It's just my ex, Tessa," she explained. "She's a forensic specialist in the States and is here a lot for work. And every single time she tries to convince me to get back together with her." She turned her phone to show Gail the flirty message, complete with a lot of winky and kissy emoticons.

Gail grimaced. "Gross," she said. "People actually text like that?"

"Right?" Holly sighed and placed her phone back on the table. "It'd just be so much easier if I were dating someone and could say I was unavailable."

"So why not just say you are?" Gail suggested.

"Because she'd insist on meeting her and it's hard to do that if she doesn't exist," Holly explained. "Tessa is… she's pretty intense. She was overly possessive and quick to get really jealous. It was too much, so I broke things off."

"How long were you together?" Gail asked.

"Three months. We've been broken up for about two years now."

Gail nearly spit out her drink. "Seriously? And she's still sending you those kinds of messages? Restraining. Order."

Holly laughed. "She's harmless, really. Just annoying."

"I'll be your girlfriend."

Holly choked on her drink, sputtering out a "what?"

Gail laughed. "I'll do it. I can play lesbian life partner. It'll be like going under cover!" She was a bit too excited by that.

"Gail, you don't have to do that," she said, coughing. "I've managed to keep Tessa at bay before, I can do it again."

"But why do that when you have me to play the part?" Gail asked. "Really, I don't mind. Think how much easier it'll be. Besides, maybe I can use the Peck charm, not to mention my badge, to tell her to get lost and stay there."

Holly wanted to say no because she was already feeling herself falling for Gail, and that was heartbreak waiting to happen. She'd done the whole fall for the straight girl thing. It sucked. But at the same time, Tessa was nothing if not persistent. And, according to her text, she'd be in the city for two weeks. Could she endure two weeks of Fatal Attraction?

"Just say yes, Holly," Gail said. "Then go get us another round. I'm all out."

Holly rolled her eyes. "I'll _think_ about it," she said as she stood to head to the bar. Really, what could it hurt?

Pretending to date Gail was hard. Not because it was difficult to pretend to be in a relationship, but because it was _easy_ to do so. The only difference between their friendship dynamic and their fake relationship one was that now they were holding hands and sitting just a bit closer.

Holly kept having to remind herself that Gail was just playing a part.

Though, that didn't entirely explain Gail's hand currently resting on her thigh, just above her knee as they shared at booth at a lowkey restaurant. Tessa couldn't see their legs, so Gail really had no reason to be gripping her thigh, thumb lightly stroking across the denim of her jeans.

Not that she was complaining. Just confused. But she figured Gail was just getting into character. It was like being under cover, right?

Lunch with Tessa proved to be a roller coaster, as Holly had predicted. But in the end, she'd backed off. She may be a bit intense, but she wasn't a home wrecker. She actually said those words as she said her goodbyes.

Once she'd left the restaurant, Gail burst out laughing. "Oh, my god, she really _is _insane! She couldn't keep staring daggers at me."

"I thought she was going to jump across the table and strangle you when you kissed my cheek," Holly added, also laughing. It was then that she noticed that Gail hadn't removed her hand from her thigh. In actuality, it had moved up a few inches. Her breath caught in her throat. Did Gail even realize what she was doing?

"Jeez, talk about possessive," Gail continued. "Does she always call you 'babe'?"

Holly nodded. "I've told her a million times not to." She sipped her water. "But I think she believed us."

Gail nodded. "I think we were pretty convincing. Especially when you told the story of how we met."

Holly laughed. "I told the truth, though! We met at a crime scene."

"And I couldn't keep my eyes off you?!" Gail shrieked. "As if, nerd. I think it was you who couldn't keep her eyes off moi." Still laughing, Gail glanced over at Holly and stilled, noting the look in her eye. She swallowed and licked her lips, suddenly aware of everything.

They sat close, way closer than normal friends would sit, thighs pressed against one another. Her hand was on Holly's thigh, _caressing_ her thigh.

What the hell?

"W–we should go," Gail said, pulling her hand back and moving to stand.

"Yeah, sure," Holly replied, cursing herself. She should have known this was a bad idea. Gail was probably going to pull away from her now. Dammit.

The fall air was crisp with the looming winter. Holly pulled her jacket tighter around her as they walked towards her car.

"Ugh, I knew I should have worn a jacket instead of just a sweater," Gail said, rubbing her arms against the night chill.

Holly chuckled and placed an arm around Gail's slim shoulders. "Here, have some body heat."

Gail didn't even try to pull back. Instead, she snuggled further into Holly's warmth. Holly was more confused than ever.

"Want me to drop you off at your apartment?" Holly asked after they'd settled into her car.

Gail groaned. "God, no," she said. "Dov and Chloe are there and the last place I want to be is in their presence. Chloe is _loud_."

Holly grimaced. "Thanks for that thought," she said.

"If I must suffer, I'm bringing you down with me," Gail said. "Can we just go back to your place? Maybe watch a movie or something?"

"Action/Adventure full of people blowing shit up or comedic gold of Melissa McCarthy?" Holly asked.

They glanced at each other and grinned. "Melissa McCarthy," they answered in unison.

_The Heat_ played on the tv screen, but Gail wasn't really paying attention. She was too busy studying Holly discretely out of the corner of her eye. Or, she thought she was being discrete. Holly was fully aware of Gail's careful scrutiny. But she didn't acknowledge it; she didn't want to do anything to scare her.

Gail, meanwhile, was wondering when exactly her feelings for Holly had shifted from platonic friendship to, well, definitely _not_ platonic. Because she was pretty sure you weren't supposed to wonder what it would be like to kiss your platonic friend. Or what they looked like naked. Or what sounds they made while in the throes of passion.

Fuck, she was in trouble.

But, really, the fact that Holly was a woman didn't bother Gail. She'd been raised to be open minded and accepting of everyone. It was maybe the one part of her childhood that she was grateful for. She was just surprised. She'd never really felt this kind of attraction to a woman before. And why the hell hadn't she realized sooner that this was attraction?

"Are you going to watch the movie or just keep staring creepily at me?" Holly suddenly asked.

Gail's eyes widened. When had she shifted from stealthy glances to full on staring, anyway? "I'm not staring, you just have, um, a piece of spinach in your teeth."

Holly paused the movie, silence falling upon the room. "Gail, I didn't eat any spinach. I hate spinach."

Gail pursed her lips. "Right, sorry. Holly, can I ask you a question?"

"Always," Holly said, turning on the couch to face Gail.

Gail mirrored her action. "Did you enjoy our fake date?" Her voice was serious.

"Well, sure," Holly answered. "You make a very convincing fake girlfriend."

"Okay, but what if that's because, subconsciously, I didn't want it to be fake?"

Holly took a moment to study Gail, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "Like, you're wondering what it's like to actually be on a lesbian date?"

Gail shook her head. "No, well, kinda. But not really. More like what it was like to actually be your totally _not_ fake girlfriend."

"Why? Do you want to be the totally not fake girlfriend?" Holly wasn't even surprised how ridiculous and not awkward this conversation was. If it were anyone other than Gail, she'd be confused by the blasé manner in which she spoke. But it _was_ Gail, so it only made sense.

Gail shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. I think? I mean, perhaps not quite at the girlfriend stage yet, but… I don't know, maybe, like, dating?"

Holly shook her head. "Gail, not that I think you'd knowingly do this, but I'm not game to be an experiment."

Gail looked shocked, like the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. "I know," she said. "I wouldn't risk the best friendship I've had in, well, ever just to experiment."

Holly nodded. "Okay, so what does this mean?"

Gail didn't answer. Instead, she gnawed on her lower lip, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then she moved so suddenly that Holly couldn't even react as Gail's lips settled over her own. Not that she wanted to pull back.

The kiss was quick, barely more than a peck. (Holly nearly laughed aloud at the unintentional pun, but managed to hold back so as not to make Gail think she was laughing at her.) But really, it was no more than the kiss Holly had planted on Gail in the coat closet at the wedding.

"It means I think you're hot and I want to kiss you," Gail said with a husky voice that just _did_ things to Holly. Magical things.

"Okay," Holly said.

It took exactly three days for Gail to call Holly her girlfriend.


	6. Beach

**PROMPT: Beach fic. **

"If I turn into a lobster, I'm blaming you," Gail muttered as she trudged through the hot sand.

Holly laughed. "That's what the SPF 45 sunscreen and giant umbrella is for," she said, guiding them to a fairly secluded section of beach near the water. She set her oversized beach tote on the sand and unfolded one of the two lounging chairs she held, handing the other to Gail.

Gail still wasn't impressed. She could already feel her skin soaking up too much sun. She glared at Holly. "Why can't we just go back to the hotel? The bed is huge and comfy and the sheets are so soft. Perfect for intense sex. Your favorite kind of sex. And if you think I'm difficult under normal circumstances, I'm about ten times as bad with a sunburn. And I burn really easily. I'm just thinking of you, here!"

"Uh huh," Holly said, grinning. She stood in front of her girlfriend of just over a year, planted her hands on Gail's shoulders, and gave her a quick, searing kiss. "I will slather you with sunscreen and you'll stay in the shade. Just try and relax. Please? I love the beach. It reminds me of summers as a kid when we'd visit my grandparents in Florida. They had a condo right on the beach and I'd wake up to the sound of crashing waves and seagulls. Those summers were some of my best childhood memories, you know. One time, my—"

Gail grabbed Holly's face and planted her lips on the babbling woman's, effectively silencing her. Holly was quick to respond, pulling Gail into her front and kissing her back with vigor. Gail pulled back after several moments. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Holly just grinned, then stepped back, aware of their public setting. "Come on, Queen Elsa," she said, picking up the oversized umbrella from where Gail had dropped it to the sand. "Let's get this set up before you turn into a tomato."

Gail crinkled her nose. "Tomatoes give me a rash," she said.

"I know." Holly dug the umbrella into the sand, ensuring it was stable. Gail unfolded her chair and situated it in the shade.

"Want me to slather you now?" Holly asked, holding up the sunscreen.

Gail grinned and sat in her chair, adjusting it to lay all the way back. If there was one good thing about the beach, it was having a legitimate excuse to have Holly's hands on her. She settled on her stomach. "Hit me," she said.

Holly chuckled and knelt in the sand beside Gail's chair. She opened the bottle and, with a sly grin, let some of the cold lotion to fall directly onto Gail's back. Gail squealed, reaching up to pull off her oversized aviator sunglasses. "Mean," she accused.

Holly just laughed and began to rub the sunscreen into Gail's smooth skin, kneading her muscles at the same time. Gail hummed. She so loved Holly's backrubs.

"You keep making those sex noises and we will definitely be headed back to the hotel very soon," Holly said as she worked the lotion into Gail's lower back, letting her fingers dip beneath the blue and white fabric of her bikini bottoms that matched the tube-style top. To ensure she was fully protected from the sun, of course.

Gail grinned and moaned a bit louder.

Holly smacked her butt cheek lightly. "Nice try," she said. Gail pouted. Holly ignored her and moved to the backs of Gail's thighs, ensuring full coverage. She couldn't help but tease a bit, letting her fingers graze the flimsy fabric covering Gail's center. Gail gasped. Holly pretended not to notice.

Once she'd finished Gail's back, Gail flipped over, glaring at Holly. "Like I said, mean." Holly blew her a kiss and handed her the bottle of sunscreen.

Gail glanced at the bottle. "You're not finished."

"You can reach your front, Gail."

Gail still didn't take it. "But where's the fun in that?" she asked with a sly grin. She laid back, inviting Holly to finish. Holly wasn't about to refuse.

By the time Gail was fully protected by the sunscreen, Holly was about ready to take Gail up on her suggestion of abandoning the beach and retiring to the hotel room to test out those sheets. But she held her resolve. Barely. She settled onto her back on her own lounge chair in the sun.

Gail pouted again. "You're too far away," she whined. She couldn't stop staring at Holly in her little red bikini.

Holly turned her head to look at Gail. "Just because you will burn in two minutes flat doesn't mean I can't soak up a bit of sun," she said with a laugh.

Gail gave her best puppy dog eyes. "Yeah, but… melanoma. Are you a doctor? Aren't you worried about that?"

Holly laughed. "I put on sunscreen, too," she said. "I like the heat of the sun."

"Fine," Gail said. "You'll just have to make it up to me later." She smirked. "In bed, I mean."

"I figured that, Gail," Holly replied, matching her grin. "And deal."

Nearly two hours and another application of sunscreen later, Holly finally convinced Gail to go into the water with her with the promise that they'd head back to the hotel afterwards. Holding hands, Holly led her into the surf, the coolness of the water a welcome relief from the heat of the blazing sun.

When they were in waist-deep water, Gail turned to Holly. "You have five minutes to get me all wet, Stewart," Gail said, completely aware of the double entendre of her words.

Holly paused, then stepped forward to lean to whisper in Gail's ear. "I'm sure you've been wet for hours, Gail." Then she hooked her leg behind Gail's knees and dunked her. She raced off.

Gail surfaced and sputtered. "Holly!" she screamed. "You little cheat. Get back here!"

They wrestled in the water for a few minutes before Gail finally climbed onto Holly's back and demanded they return to shore. To emphasize her point, Gail thrust her hips a few times against Holly's lower back and ran one hand across Holly's abdomen, reaching as far down as she could.

Holly grabbed Gail's wandering hand and laughed. "Wait 'til we get back to the hotel, stud," Holly said. She began heading back to the shore, Gail still on her back, raining soft kisses along her neck and shoulder. When they arrived on shore, Gail was forced to get down. Holly turned to face her. She glanced around and took note that they were pretty much alone. Just a group of people out in the water, not paying them any attention. Good. She pulled the blonde to her and kissed her soundly.

Gail hummed in appreciation and stepped as close as she could, wrapping her arms around Holly's neck. Holly reached down and gripped the backs of Gail's thighs, lifting her upwards until she wrapped her legs around Holly's waist. The position placed Gail's head above Holly's, so she cupped Holly's cheeks in her hands and leaned down to kiss her again. The waves lapped at Holly's ankles, but she hardly noticed.

When they parted, Holly smiled up at Gail. "I've always wanted to kiss you like that," she said softly.

Gail returned her smile and wrapped her arms around Holly's neck. "Take me to the hotel room," she said. "You still owe me. And I plan to collect interest." She kissed Holly once more. "So much interest."


	7. The Way Back to You

**PROMPT: After Holly's "Goodnight Gail" from 5x07 Gail makes sure she's at all the crime scenes that Holly might be at; and she is friendly and generally adorable (e.g looking after a kid/sign language/flirting) to convince Holly to give her another chance.**

_(I knew this was going to end up being multiple parts, so I held off on adding to this collection until it was complete. I MAY continue at a later date if there's interest, but for now it's finished. Enjoy.)_

**PART ONE **

Gail looked around as she arrived on scene, seeking out long, dark hair, but finding none. She sighed. She'd practically been begging Steve all week to put her on any and every homicide that Holly might be working just to be able to catch a glimpse of the other woman. Surprisingly, Steve had granted her wishes. This was the third body she'd been assigned to that week.

Holly hadn't been assigned to any of them.

Gail stood near the perimeter, taking the statement of a giant middle-aged man holding the leash of some yappy, fru-fru dog. She tried her best to ignore the little demon, but that proved rather difficult when it sniffed at her, then lifted its back leg and proceeded to urinate on her shoe.

Gail yelped and jumped back, shaking her foot as she glared down at the tiny dog, seriously considering if she'd be able to get away with calling animal services on the thing. It would be like having it arrested for assaulting a police officer.

A towel appeared in her line of sight. Gail grabbed it as she swiveled her head to see who had come to her rescue. And came face to face with the very woman she was hoping to run into at the scene. Of course, she hadn't counted on the stupid little dog peeing on her. Great. "Uh, thanks," she said, leaning down to wipe her shoe and bottom of her uniform pants. She was suddenly grateful she had a spare pair back in her locker at the station.

"No problem," was all Holly said before she turned and made her way to the body, forensics kit—_lunchbox_—in hand.

Gail cursed inwardly. That hadn't gone as planned.

"Peck!" Oliver called out from across the street and waved her over. Gail told the man she with the urinating dog to stay put, then trotted across the street towards Oliver and a young boy.

"What's up, Oliver?" she asked.

"There here," he said, pointing to the boy Gail assumed to be about 7 years of age, "is Andrew." He glanced up at Gail. "His brother is our vic and he was in the house when it happened. His mother is on her way and gave permission for you to talk to him. We need your sign language skills to figure out if he saw anything."

Gail nodded. "I'm on it," she said. She knelt down in front of the young boy. He looked scared and overwhelmed. She made sure to have him face away from the crime scene.

_Hi, I'm Gail, _she signed as she spoke. _You're Andrew?_ The boy nodded. _Okay, Andrew, can you tell me what you remember? _

The boy recounted his story in sign and Gail nodded in understanding as she took notes. The boy was shaken, but clear in what he saw, which was basically nothing. He'd been playing video games upstairs in his room and, of course, hadn't heard any of the argument that had taken place, nor the gunshot. He hadn't seen anyone enter or leave the house, and didn't even know anything was off until the police had shown up in response to a 911 call made by a neighbor reporting the sounds of gunshots.

_Okay, your mom should be here soon. Can you be a big boy and sit here with Officer Price until she gets here? _She stood, intending to take the information to Steve.

The boy's eyes widened and he grabbed her hand. _Don't leave_, he signed frantically, tears welling in his eyes.

Gail immediately returned to her kneeling position as she waved Chloe towards them. "Tell Steve he didn't see anything," she said. "I'm going to stay with him until his mom gets here."

Chloe nodded and turned to leave. Gail refocused on Andrew. _I'm going to stay right here, okay? _

The boy nodded and clung to her, seeking comfort in the ability to communicate with her. Gail let him. She'd always been good with kids, surprisingly, and her heart went out to the boy.

Across the street, a certain dark haired pathologist looked on in awe. She didn't know Gail could sign. She hadn't been able to hear any of Gail's words that she spoke while signing, but she could tell the boy felt comfortable with her. He felt safe. And Gail was letting him hug her. She was seeing an entirely new side of the blonde. Her heart melted a little before her attention was called back to the gurney with the body bag atop it, headed towards the van to take to the morgue. As she was about to get into her vehicle to follow, she gave one last glance over towards Gail, taking careful note at how Gail kept his attention on her instead of the crime scene. She really was good with kids.

**PART TWO**

The next time their paths crossed was at the scene of a suspicious death. Gail and Andy had been called out to the residence in the seemingly peaceful neighborhood and found the woman lying on the kitchen floor. There was no apparent cause of the young woman's demise. No bullet wounds, no knife marks, no visible puncture marks. But they didn't touch her beyond looking for a pulse.

Andy called it in while Gail cleared the rest of the house. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing appeared to be stolen. But something still made Gail's gut say it was a homicide.

The place was crawling with uniforms by the time Holly arrived on scene. She immediately noted Gail and Andy talking with Detective Swarek just a few feet from the body.

Gail and Andy had just finished giving Sam the lowdown as she noted Holly's arrival, her red 'lunchbox' gripped tightly in her hand.

"Hey, Sam, why don't we go… over there and… uh, look for evidence while Gail fills Dr. Stewart in," Andy stammered out, pushing Sam's shoulder.

"What evidence?" Sam asked, oblivious to Andy's intent.

"The… evidence over by the window." She dragged him away, leaving Gail and Holly alone.

Gail gave Holly a pointed look. "I think we were just set up," she said, opting for light conversation over the weepy, sappy stuff she really wanted to say. But this was hardly the time or place for that.

Luckily, Holly seemed to agree. She nodded. "It appears that way," she said. She offered a small smile before crouching down next to the deceased. "What's the story?"

Gail mirrored her position on the other side the body. "Tara Emerson. Twenty-one. Student. McNally and I were called to the scene when Tara's roommate found her already dead. I'm betting she was poisoned somehow."

Holly glanced up at her. "Oh? You get your medical degree in the last couple weeks?" But she said it with a teasing grin, so Gail smirked.

Gail shrugged. "Just a hunch. There's no apparent bullet or knife wounds, and no visible injection marks. No blood. Roommate says she had no known health issues other than a few allergies. So unless she accidentally ingested enough peanuts and soy products to make her keel over, my money is on some sort of poison."

Holly was thrown off by Gail's behavior towards her. The last time they'd crossed paths at a crime scene, she'd barely been able to speak two words to her. And now she was discussing theory. And she was… flirting? Because that grin she was shooting her… that sure seemed like Gail's flirty grin.

"Was she moved at all?" Holly asked, noting the odd position she was in.

Gail shook her head. "No way," she said. "We know not to risk the Stewart wrath that comes from moving a body before you get here." Another flirty grin. "McNally just checked for a pulse, but otherwise, we didn't touch her."

Holly nodded. "Good. I need to get her back to the lab," she said, standing and pulling off her gloves.

Gail stood as well. "Of course. Twenty bucks says it's a poisoning. You have a"—she reached over and brushed her hand across the shoulder of Holly's jacket—"piece of fuzz."

Then she walked away to rejoin Andy and Sam.

Huh.

Later that night, Gail returned home—the new apartment she'd moved into when Chris had reclaimed his old status as Dov's roommate—to find an envelope taped to the front door with her name written on the front. Inside was a twenty dollar bill and piece of paper that read, "You were right."

**PART THREE**

"Gail, I need you to head out to the scene of the Grant homicide and finish getting witness' statements for Dov," Traci said as she saddled up to Gail in the hallway of 15. "He had to bring suspect in."

"Sure," Gail said. "Do you know who's the—"

Traci didn't even let Gail finish. "Holly's there. Which is why I'm asking you. You're welcome." Then she walked away.

Gail stood there, stunned. How did Traci know she was hoping to be able to run into Holly once again? After the second crime scene the previous week, she was feeling a bit more hopeful that not all was lost. She was already formulating a plan.

One the way to the scene, Gail made a quick stop, then pulled up just as the body was being removed from the premises. Good. That meant she wasn't too late.

She didn't even say anything to Holly this time. Just walked up to her as she prepared to follow the body to the morgue and handed her the large cup of coffee from what Gail knew was her favorite place, then continued on towards the group of witnesses. She didn't even look back to see Holly's reaction.

But if she had looked back, she'd have seen Holly's dazed expression turn into a small smile and take a lifesaving sip of the hot liquid. How had Gail known she'd already been having a rough day? That's when she'd noticed the slip of paper stuck between the cup and the heat-resistant sleeve. She glanced around and noted that no one was paying her any attention, so she placed the cup on the hood of the car and pulled the paper out. She unfolded it to see Gail's distinct block handwriting.

_Something told me you'd need this. I even had them add an extra shot of espresso, just the way you like. Let me know if I can do anything else for you. Anything at all. xo Gail_

She felt her already weakened resolve crumbling.

Gail was surprised when there was a knock at her door at 10:46PM. Who on earth was knocking on her door so late? She considered just letting whoever it was think she was already asleep, but another knock sounded, its urgency demanding attention. She sighed and got up from the couch, pausing the movie she'd been mindlessly watching as she did so, and shuffled to the door.

She looked through the peephole and received a shock. Holly stood in the hallway, hands in her coat pockets as she shuffled from one foot to the other.

Gail quickly undid the deadbolt and chain and opened the door. "Holly?"

"Your note said to let you know if there was anything else you could do," Holly rushed out, not waiting for an invitation to brush past Gail and into the apartment. Gail briefly wondered how she'd even known where she lived now, but that thought quickly fled her mind when she noted Holly's exhausted and weary appearance.

"Uh, yeah, of course," Gail responded, closing and relocking the door. She pulled the edges of her short robe closed, hugging her midsection and suddenly wishing she was more dressed. "What is it?"

Holly turned to face Gail squarely, determination written all over her face. "I need you to just be there," she said, voice unsteady. "Today was just a really bad day, except for your coffee. Thank you for that, by the way. But the rest of it just sucked, and I could really use a friend right about now."

Gail took the three steps that separated them and pulled Holly into a tight hug, feeling the other woman sag against her and bury her face against Gail's neck. Gail didn't say anything in fear of scaring Holly away; she just let her take whatever comfort she needed in the moment. Gail, meanwhile, let herself get lost in the feeling of holding Holly again. She nearly protested when Holly finally stepped back, but managed to force her arms to drop back to her sides.

Gail led Holly to the couch and they sat, closer than strictly necessary, but still not touching. Gail tugged at the bottom of her robe in attempt to cover more of her thighs, but was unsuccessful. Rather, it drew Holly's attention to her dilemma and, after staring for several seconds and licking her lips (which sent butterflies straight to Gail's stomach), she reached behind Gail to grab the purple fleece throw blanket that was draped over the back of the couch.

"You still have this," Holly mused as she draped the fabric across Gail's lap. It was the same fleece blanket that she'd given the blonde as a joke.

"Of course," Gail said, tucking the ends of the blanket under her thighs. "You gave it to me." The simplistic explanation was casually stated, complete with a shrug that said 'duh.' It made Holly pause, but before she could reply, Gail changed the subject. "Do you want to talk about your crappy day?" Holly was the only person who Gail had ever cared about having a bad day, other than herself, of course.

Holly shrugged. "It was just long and the victim, well, she, um, kind of looked you and it freaked me out a bit."

"Oh," Gail said. She'd seen a photo of the victim and had been momentarily caught off guard by the similarity in appearance—late twenties, short blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin—but she'd quickly shaken it off. She hadn't thought about how Holly would react having to perform the autopsy on the woman.

"Yeah," Holly said, drawing out the syllable. "It made me think about how dangerous your job is and how it could easily have been you." She met Gail's eye.

"Holly," Gail started to reassure her.

"I'm not looking for a platitude," Holly interrupted.

"Okay," Gail said. "What about a… friend?" There was a sad lilt to her voice, but the overall statement was sincere. She missed Holly. If all they could ever be again is friends, well, that was a hell of a lot better than nothing. She smiled.

"Friends," Holly repeated, returning Gail's smile. "I don't know about the future, but for now, I can do friends."

Gail momentarily thought about making a bad pun involving the words 'doing a friend' but thought better of it. Instead, she nodded. "Okay. Friends, it is."

"For now," Holly reiterated, letting Gail know that there was still a chance for them. Gail silently vowed to do everything in her power to not screw it up this time. So, friends first. It would be like starting over. And Gail liked the sound of that.


	8. Meeting Bill Peck

**PROMPT: Holly meeting Bill Peck for the first time.**

_(I found this somewhat difficult because we've barely seen Bill Peck, so I had trouble finding his voice and personality. So this is pretty much how I headcanon his relationship with Gail.)_

Gail's relationship with her mother was shaky at the best of times. And that was being generous.

But, while far from perfect, at least her relationship with her father was a bit better. They had their rocky times, usually having to do with her relationship with her mother, but generally, he was the one she went to for comfort as a child. She wouldn't say they were close, but he was a good, solid man. She liked him best when her mother wasn't around.

So it only made sense that Gail would introduce Holly to her dad before her mother. The opportunity was perfect; her mother was out of town for two days. So she made plans to meet her father for dinner and mentioned she may bring someone along.

Holly was nervous, but more than willing to meet Gail's father. She knew this was another big step for Gail. It had been nearly a month since the shooting at fifteen; nearly a month since they'd started dating. Gail had introduced Holly to her friends and coworkers as her girlfriend already. And her brother. This was the next logical step. And, to be honest, she was glad she was meeting Bill Peck before Elaine Peck. She'd only heard about the high ranking woman through coworkers and Gail, but she was already intimidated.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Gail asked as they sat in the driveway of the house, still in Holly's car.

Holly reached over and grabbed Gail's hand in a reassuring gesture. "Of course I'm okay with this," she replied. "Are _you_ okay with it? I mean, it's more than introducing your dad to the person you're dating. You're coming out to him."

Gail took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's get this over with."

They exited the car and walked up the front steps. Gail unlocked the door with her key—even when they were at home, the Pecks insisted on keeping the doors locked—and let Holly enter first.

The smell of garlic bread permeated the air, making Gail's mouth water. Garlic bread meant some sort of Italian pasta dish. Her stomach growled with hunger at the same time it knotted with nerves.

"Dad?" Gail called out, as she took Holly's coat to hang up next to hers in the front hall closet.

Footsteps approached from the direction of Bill's office on the main floor. Gail turned to see him round the corner, dressed in his 'casual' wear of perfectly-pressed dark gray slacks and golf shirt. Gail internally rolled her eyes. God forbid either of her parents be caught in jeans in the presence of company.

"Hello, father," Gail deadpanned, rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Hello, daughter," Bill replied, hugging her briefly before stepping back. He glanced at the woman standing behind his daughter. "And who is this?" he asked pleasantly.

Gail grabbed Holly's wrist and urged her forward. "This is Dr. Holly Stewart," she informed him. "Holly, this is my dad, Inspector Bill Peck."

They shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Inspector," Holly said warmly.

Bill smiled. "Likewise. And please, a friend of Gail's can call me Bill."

"Aright, Bill," Holly responded as they parted hands. "You have a lovely home."

Bill glanced around. "My wife's doing, mostly," he said. "But we like it. Gail, why don't you show our guest around a bit while I see if Naomi is nearly ready for us."

Gail nodded. "Sure," she said, taking Holly's hand and leading her towards the stairs. Bill watched them leave, thoughtful.

"Who's Naomi?" he heard Holly whisper to Gail.

"The cook slash housekeeper," Gail responded.

"You have a cook?!"

Once upstairs, Gail immediately led Holly to her childhood room. "Welcome to my personal hell," Gail said as she closed the door behind them.

Holly looked around, taking in the in-your-face girly-ness she'd never have expected from Gail. "Oh, well, it's… nice?"

Gail rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the four poster bed complete with lacy canopy. "It's hideous. At least it's no longer the bright pink floral wallpaper my mother insisted upon painting it when I was seven. I wanted dinosaurs." Now the walls were painted a soft pink that still made Gail gag.

Holly studied various items in the room—random knickknacks on the shelves, photos, and various ribbons and awards. "Definitely not how I pictured it," she said with a chuckle. "Let me guess, your mother wouldn't allow you any say in the décor?"

"Ding, ding, ding," Gail said. "I'm so glad I don't live here anymore."

Holly smiled and moved to stand in front of Gail, cupping her cheeks and leaning down to kiss her soundly. Gail's hands rose to clutch at Holly's waist, holding her in place as she returned the kiss with ardor. She'd never get used to the euphoric feeling she got while kissing Holly. Kissing Holly was like kissing no other person she'd kissed. She'd never gotten so turned on by a simple kiss. All of Holly's kisses turned her on. She laid back, pulling Holly on top of her.

Gail had no idea how long they'd been kissing when suddenly the door opened and a voice broke them apart. "Gail, Holly, dinner is—oh." Bill Peck stood in the doorway, shock written all over his usually composed face.

Gail was frozen in fear. Sure, she'd planned on telling him that she and Holly were a couple. What she hadn't planned on was him finding out just how close they were by walking in while she had her tongue in Holly's mouth. And, oh god, her hands were still tucked into the back pockets of Holly's jeans. And Holly's hand… Jesus Christ, one hand still rested high on Gail's ribs, her shirt bunching around Holly's slim wrist to expose a good portion of pale stomach.

Bill was the first to recover, and he cleared his throat. "I was just going to say it's time to adjourn to the dining room for dinner. I'll see you both there once you… resituate yourselves." With that, he was gone.

Gail gaped at the empty doorway. What the fuck had just happened?

A few minutes later, they entered the dining room, a mix of emotions between them. Holly had tried to convince Gail that it would be okay. As far as she could tell, her father had only been stunned, not upset. Gail was too focused on her embarrassment to hear her, though. She felt her cheeks burn as they sat across the table from her father.

"Gail, why didn't you tell us you had someone new in your life?" he asked, sipping his wine.

Gail was thrown off by the casual way he asked the question. "Uh, it's new?" Holly gripped her knee comfortingly under the table, giving her a supportive squeeze. Gail glanced at Holly, who was giving her a reassuring smile.

Bill just gave a single nod, then turned to Holly. "So, Doctor, huh? Which field?"

"Forensic pathology," Holly answered. Gail was stunned by the sudden change of topic.

"So I'm guessing that's how the two of you met?"

Holly nodded. "She called me lunchbox and told me to get away from her crime scene."

"Sounds like Gail," Bill said. "You must be the charming one in the relationship."

"Wait," Gail interrupted. "Tha–that's it?"

Her father regarded her with a questioning expression. "What's it?"

"I mean, you find out I'm dating a woman, and all you have to ask is why I hadn't told you I had someone new in my life?"

Her father replaced his fork on his plate and folded his hands on the table top. "Well, I don't see what the gender of the person you're dating has to do with anything. You know your mother and I support and donate generously to the Toronto LGBT Law Enforcement Organization*."

"Yeah, but, I don't know, I figured you'd have a stronger reaction than that," Gail said, not sure why she was arguing.

"To be honest, I was more surprised to find you making out with someone in your childhood room than that fact that this someone was a woman."

Gail was momentarily stunned into silence at those words. Holly had to stifle a laugh at the implication behind his words. Bill just returned to the food on his plate.

"You thought I was a lesbian before today?" Gail finally asked.

"I don't know that I'd put it exactly like that," her father responded. "But we always wondered."

"We?" Gail asked.

"Your mother and I," he clarified.

Gail groaned and sunk down in her chair. "Mom is going to gloat, isn't she?"

Bill laughed. "Probably. She won the bet."

*Note: the Toronto LGBT Law Enforcement Organization is a complete fabrication of my mind. I'm terrible at coming up with names for these things. haha


	9. Meet the Neighbor

**PROMPT: sadly not everyone is as cool as the people of 15. can you write gail and holly encountering homophobia and how they deal with it?**

_(The general plot for this particular prompt may seem a bit out there, but it actually stems from a very real local news story I saw the other day. It sickens me that someone could actually think and act like this. It really hurt my heart, but I couldn't get it out of my head as something that Gail and Holly could, unfortunately, face in the future.)_

Mrs. Johansen, the old biddy that lived in the house next door, was staring at them again. Holly ignored her. Gail stared right back, daring her to say something.

So far, she'd just been a nuisance as opposed to a real threat.

The day that Gail and Holly had moved in to their new house, just over three weeks prior, she'd actually been friendly. She'd said she'd seen the moving van outside and wanted to come over to welcome the new neighbors to the community. She'd smiled at Holly's very pregnant belly (the purchase of the house had kept getting delayed due to some issues with the seller, and they now only had a month until Holly's due date to get things settled and ready for baby number one). The lady asked if Holly knew the gender, then clapped in excitement when Holly told her it was a girl.

Gail had been upstairs unpacking Holly's medical journals onto the giant, built-in bookcase in the home office (she'd probably done it wrong, but Holly could just fix it however she wanted later). She had been making her way down the stairs when she'd heard the old lady ask where Holly's husband was. Holly had laughed, of course, and waved Gail over. Then she'd introduced Gail as her _wife_.

Gail still wishes she'd had a camera handy to capture the look that had taken up residence on the woman's face. Gail could only describe it as horrified contempt. The woman had mumbled something about needing to take something out of the oven and made a hasty exit.

Since that day, not many words had been exchanged. Mainly, it was "you'll burn in hell" looks from Mrs. Johansen and equally intense "go to hell" looks from Gail.

"Will you just stop?" Holly huffed as she walked up next to Gail, who stood next to the car, still staring daggers. "Staring back is only going to make it worse."

Gail sighed and looked away, gaze coming to rest on her wife's tired, yet happy face. She smiled. "I guess I have better things to think about right now, huh?"

"Definitely," Holly agreed.

Gail couldn't help it; she kissed Holly, letting it linger a bit longer than strictly necessary. But it wasn't to antagonize the old biddy. She just wanted to kiss her wife. She didn't even look back at the old woman to see her reaction.

Rather, she opened the back door of their hybrid SUV and looked down in awe at their newborn daughter, sleeping soundly in the rear-facing safety seat. Gail marveled at her tiny, tiny hands and head full of dark hair. She'd arrived a week early on a frigid November night, born at 12:09AM the day after Gail's birthday. Gail had tried to convince the doctors to let Holly push sooner—because, hello! How cool would it be to share a birthday with your firstborn?!—but Holly had shushed her, saying it would happen when it happened. Even when in labor, Holly was the voice of reason.

They'd named her Ellie. Ellie Sophia Peck-Stewart.

"Let's get inside," Holly said, breaking Gail's trance. "It's freezing out here."

Gail stepped aside and allowed Holly to unhook the car-seat from its base. Gail grabbed Holly's hospital bag from the trunk while Holly gripped the carrier, careful not to jostle the sleeping infant as she walked up the three steps that led to the front door. Gail brushed by her to unlock and open the door.

"Here we are, baby girl Peck-Stewart," Holly cooed, stepping into the blessedly warm house. "Welcome home."

Gail couldn't help but cast one last glance over her shoulder before closing the door. Old Mrs. Johansen looked downright pissed. Good. Gail smiled and waved, then closed the door. Now was time to focus on her daughter.

Her daughter! Jesus Christ, she was a mom!

Gail broke into a genuine smile as she watched Holly giving little Ellie the grand tour of the large, but still modest house. "You know she's still sleeping, right?" Gail asked with a chuckle. "She can't actually hear you."

"Hush and let me do my thing," Holly chided her.

Gail just shook her head and followed her up the stairs to the second floor.

"And this is your mommies' bedroom," Holly said as she opened the door to the master suite. "You'll be sleeping in this amazingly comfy bassinet for a little while. Then you'll start sleeping in your own room."

In the nursery, which Gail, Traci, and Steve had finished painting only two days prior (okay, Steve and Traci did the majority of the painting), Holly set the carrier down on next to the rocking chair . She sat down just as Ellie decided it was time to wake up, eyes blinking open. She cooed at the sight of her moms.

Gail moved to sit next to Holly, glad they'd found one that was wide enough for them to both fit on comfortably. She wrapped her arms around Holly's waist and tucked her chin onto her shoulder. "I give her two minutes before she's crying to be fed," Gail said with a laugh.

"Pfft," Holly rebuked. "Thirty seconds, tops."

Holly won with eight seconds to spare.

Bedtime rolled around. Really, it was meant to be just Ellie's bedtime, but neither adult had gotten much sleep the past two days since Ellie's arrival. So, even though there was still a trace of sunlight left in the sky, Gail pulled the blackout curtains shut and crawled into bed beside Holly, who was already half-asleep. Ellie lay peacefully in the bassinet just a few feet from Holly's side of the bed. (Gail knew she wouldn't stay that peaceful for too long, though.)

They were asleep within minutes.

So Gail was rather disoriented when something woke her up not even ten minutes later. Her first thought was Ellie, but it wasn't a cry that had awoken her. Then she heard it again. The doorbell and knocking. What the hell?

"Go away," Holly muttered into her pillow, pulling the covers higher around her shoulders.

Gail was about to just ignore whoever it was that dare disturb their slumber when another round of knocking and doorbell pressing sounded. An annoyed whimper, followed by a high pitched cry came from the bassinet.

Holly groaned, but sat up. "I got baby," she said. "You go murder whoever's at the door."

Gail muttered an incoherent reply as she grabbed her robe and made her way downstairs. "This better be good," she growled as she opened the door, fully expecting it to be either Traci, Dov, or Chloe, or a subset of the three. Instead, she found herself face to face with two uniformed cops from twenty-seven. She knew these two idiots.

"Dammit, guys, what the hell are you doing here?" Gail snapped, ready to slam the door shut. But Wesley Cole and Jen Luck looked as equally startled to see Gail standing on the other side of the door.

"Peck?" Luck questioned. "Why are you here?"

Gail blinked. She leaned out the door and looked up at the black metal numbers adorning the siding. "Fifteen eighty-two," she read. "Yep, this is my house."

Wes and Luck shared a look. Gail waited impatiently.

"Okay, not that I'm not enjoying this little reunion," Gail said, motioning with her hand among the three of them. "But it's freezing and I'm exhausted. Will you just tell me why you're here?"

"Can we come in?" Luck asked.

"No," Gail said just as Holly's voice from behind her said, "Yes."

Luck decided to listen to Holly and pushed past Gail. Wes followed his partner. Gail groaned, but closed the door. She turned to find Holly cradling Ellie who had thankfully fallen asleep again.

"What's going on, officers?" Holly asked softly so as not to disturb Ellie's tenuous slumber. Gail moved to stand beside her, facing the other cops.

"We got a 9-1-1 call that there was child endangerment occurring at this residence," Wes explained.

Gail's jaw dropped. "That ignorant bitch," she growled.

"Gail, language around the baby," Holly reminded, even though they both knew Ellie couldn't understand words yet.

"Holly, she called the cops on us," Gail said, fuming. "For being gay!"

"Clearly there's been a misunderstanding," Luck said, pulling on Wes' arm. "We're sorry to bother you."

They turned to leave and Gail started to follow, knowing the woman was probably being her typical nosy self on her front porch. "Gail, don't do anything stupid," Holly called after her. Gail paused and turned back to kiss Holly gently.

"I won't," she said. "Stay inside with Ellie, okay?"

Holly nodded, only agreeing because of the baby. She knew trying to convince Gail to stay inside with them was pointless. She was already stuffing her feet into the boots she'd left by the door.

Gail exited the house to find the two officers arguing with Mrs. Johansen. As she approached, she head Wes trying to calm the old lady down. "Ma'am, it's not illegal for a same-sex couple to raise a child," he said. "What is illegal is to make false allegations to the police."

"False?! Son, are you one of them, too? I bet you are by the way you're defending them and not doing your damn job. That child is in danger, I tell you!"

"Oh my god, will you just get over it already?" Gail barked when she was close enough. "We're gay. We have lots of amazing gay sex and make beautiful gay babies and live an incredibly happy gay life. Our child is healthy and will live a happy, safe life in an enriched, loving environment. So just back off already and mind your own damn business."

The sound of applause and whistles caught Gail's attention. She glanced around to see other members of the neighborhood standing in the street, the police car and the woman's hysterical shouting having caught their attention. Gail hadn't realized she had an audience, but they all seemed to agree with her.

The old lady looked like she was about to explode and Gail mentally prepared herself. But Wes stepped forward. "Mrs. Johansen, if you make another false allegation about these women or their child, or if you do anything that can be considered a hate crime, we will be back to arrest you. Do you understand?"

Mrs. Johansen didn't say anything, but they took her silence for understanding.

"We're leaving now," Luck said. "If you have a problem with their relationship, I suggest that you move." They got into their squad car and left. The crowd dispersed.

Gail started to make her way back into the house.

"I'll find another reason to call the cops on you and get that baby put into a real home," the woman called out after her.

Gail saw red. She turned with her fists on her hips, fingernails digging into her palms. "Lady, I _am_ the cops, so go ahead and try. I dare you."

"_You're_ a cop?" the woman bellowed.

Gail smirked at her disbelief. "Oh, yeah, didn't my wife mention that? Detective Gail Peck, homicide, at your service. So maybe _you_ should be careful. I'd be more than happy to have you arrested for harassment."

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, this turned into more of a "how does Gail react?" fic. I didn't mean to make Holly seem like she's not affected, but I felt like her first concern would be over baby Ellie while Gail, knowing her daughter was in safe hands, would be the one to confront the woman head on.

And like I said, this may seem over the top and ridiculous, but this actually happened here in Georgia (I really hate it here ugh). Probably not exactly like this, but seriously, an old lady called the cops on her neighbor to report that a newborn was in danger. The only reason she gave what that the parents were gay. That's it. Some people actually think like this, and it disgusts me. I hope beyond all hope that Gail and Holly (or any other same-sex couple) never have to endure ignorance like this. But sadly, it does happen. And if anyone can handle herself against homophobia, it's Gail Peck.

Also, did you like the cameo of our favorite officers from 27? No? Sorry… they were the only ones from 27 that we knew and I felt it needed to be familiar officers but no one from 15. If that makes any sense (shhhhh it's like 2:30 in the morning right now).


	10. Batter's Up!

**Prompt: semi-au where Gail and holly start a romantic relationship after the batting cages. Please and thank you :)**

"You can stop laughing now," Gail said with an adorable pout. She'd ripped the helmet off and replaced it on the hook, and now stood with her arms crossed. As much as she tried to look annoyed, Holly saw through her tough demeanor. It was the way her eyes crinkled in the corners that gave away her amusement. It was also hard to take Gail seriously with helmet hair.

Holly shook her head while trying her best to hold it together. "Gail, you threw the bat. You're supposed to hold onto it, not sling it at the ball."

"I've never played baseball before!" Gail protested, moving her hands to settle on her hips. "It's a stupid game anyway. Who the hell had the genius idea to hurdle balls of death at someone while they tried to hit it with a stick, anyway?"

"Alexander Cartwright," Holly said without missing a beat.

Gail glared at her.

"What?" Holly asked. "I mean, most people think it was Abner Doubleday in the 1800's, but actually Cartwright was the first known person to adapt the rules of _rounder_s in the 18th century into the game we are more familiar with today. Doubleday may have perfected the game, but Cartwright was likely the one with the idea to pitch a ball to a hitter."

Gail stared at Holly with a dumbfounded through her entire speech, blinking. She just kept staring, not saying a word once Holly had finished.

Holly shifted uncomfortably at Gail's stare down. "Um, nerd?" she asked with what she hoped was an endearing smile.

Gail nodded. But then she broke into a smile of her own. "Do you have a photographic memory or something?"

Holly shook her head. "I think you mean eidetic memory, but no," she said. "I just like to read."

"About the history of baseball."

Holly shrugged. "I have many interests. Come on. Try again." She picked up Gail's discarded helmet and held it out towards her.

"Oh, no," Gail said. "Don't even think I'm going back into that death cage."

"Gail, it's not a death cage. You just need to work on your stance. Come on, I'll show you."

Gail narrowed her eyes skeptically, but finally relented, grabbing the helmet and replacing it on her head. Holly pulled her own helmet on and grabbed another bat. "Okay, line your front foot up with the plate here," she said indicating the spot. "Now hold your arms out. You want the widest part of the bat to be over the plate. You're too close now."

Gail shuffled backwards, nearly bumping into Holly who didn't move away. Oh. That was interesting.

"Good. Now, feet just slightly wider than shoulder distance apart. Stand on the balls of your feet and rest most of your weight on your back foot."

As Holly instructed her, Gail couldn't help but focus on just how close Holly was standing to her. She swallowed as Holly's hands helped her with her arm placement.

"Alright, good," Holly said. "Now, when you swing, make sure you step forward with your front foot and your hips rotate outwards with your upper body." She placed her hands on Gail's hips to drive her point home. "And turn on your back foot."

Gail felt her heart skip a beat at Holly's touch and she was suddenly grateful for the helmet hiding most of her face. What the fuck?

"Okay, I think I got it," Gail said, needing Holly to stop touching her before she spontaneously combusted.

"Okay," Holly said, stepping back to turn the machine on. "Ready?"

Gail nodded. Holly hit the start button and seconds later, a ball came flying at Gail. She swung exactly how Holly had told her to. And missed by a mile.

"Good!" Holly said.

"What? I missed it!"

"But you held on to the bat," Holly pointed out. "Heads up. Another one coming your way."

"Oh!" Gail said, getting back into her stance. This time when she swung, there was contact. It was miniscule and still hit the back of the cage, but at least she was closer.

"Almost. Keep going."

The third she missed altogether. But now she was more determined than ever to hit the damn ball. Another pitch. Foul tip. (That's what Holly called it, anyway.)

Gail glared at the machine as it revved up for another pitch. She gripped the bat and leaned back, ready. The pitch and—

SMACK!

It wasn't the best of hits by baseball standards; the ball dribbled towards what would have been the pitcher's mound. But she'd hit the ball!

"I hit it!" Gail screeched, jumping in the batter's box. She turned towards Holly. "I hit it!" she said again.

Holly laughed. "Yes you did! I told you that you could do it!"

Gail continued her little dance.

"Gail, pay attention to the pitching machine," Holly reminded. But Gail didn't seem to hear her. She repeated Gail's name a few times, glancing towards the machine. The red light blinked, indicating it was about to pitch. "Gail!" she yelled as she rushed forward.

The blonde stopped her dance and looked towards Holly. "What?" she barked.

Holly grabbed Gail's arm and tugged just as the machine hurdled the next pitch. But she wasn't quick enough. Gail took a 75mph pitch to the shoulder. But if Holly hadn't pulled her out of the way, it would have been straight to the head. The helmets offered some protection, but she would have probably still ended up with a concussion.

"Ow! Goddammit!" Gail cursed as she staggered, the force of the pitch knocking her into Holly.

"Are you okay?" Holly asked, leading the blonde to safety outside the cage. She tugged off her helmet before helping Gail with her own. "I tried to get your attention. I'm so sorry, Gail."

"Ow ow ow," Gail said, clutching her right shoulder. "That's gonna leave a giant bruise."

"Probably," Holly said. "Here, let me look at it." She attempted to stretch the neck of Gail's sweater downwards in order to get a closer look, but it proved futile. "Come on," she said. "I live just a few minutes away. I want to make sure there's no permanent damage."

It was then that Gail noted the worry dominating Holly's expression. "Hey, I'll be fine. It just hurts like a bitch at the moment." She hissed as she tried to rotate her shoulder. "It's not your fault. I was the dummy who wasn't paying attention."

"Still, let me look at it? You need to ice it."

Gail nodded, knowing it should be iced as soon as possible, and her own place was twenty minutes away. And over-run with people at the moment.

Once inside Holly's townhouse, Holly led Gail to the upstairs bathroom. "That shirt has to come off," Holly said, not meeting Gail's eye. "Do you, um, want to borrow a tank top or something?"

Gail shrugged, wincing at the jolt of pain the action sent through her injured shoulder. "Ow, dammit, okay, no shrugging." She shook her head. "I'm good, just help me?" she asked as she started to ease the cream colored sweater and black long sleeved shirt she wore beneath off. She was able to get her left arm out just fine, but needed Holly's help getting it over her head and off her other arm. She hissed.

"I should really take you to a hospital," Holly said, noting Gail's discomfort while trying hard not to think about how she was sitting less than three feet away, shirtless. And she was trying even harder not to notice how sexy her black lace bra was. Who knew that tough-as-nails Gail Peck liked delicate lingerie? God, she really needed to look away. She felt her neck and face flush, grateful that her darker complexion hid the blush more than Gail's would have.

Gail shook her head violently. "You're a doctor," Gail pointed out, completely unfazed by her state of undress. "I don't need a hospital. You'll fix me up just fine."

"Gail, I work with dead people," Holly said, moving to examine Gail's shoulder. "Sorry," she said when Gail whimpered as she pressed her fingers into the warm flesh surrounding the joint.

"You went to med school," Gail pointed out. "Seriously, I just need ice and I'll be good as new in no time." Gail tried not to think about how she was sitting in just her bra while Holly prodded her bare skin, leaning in close for a good look.

"Well, from the bruise already forming, I think it got the fleshiest part of your shoulder, which is good," Holly said, standing to retrieve one of the ice packs she'd grabbed from the freezer on their way in. "But if you have trouble moving it tomorrow, you really should get an x-ray." She handed the ice pack to Gail.

"You mean those glasses _don't_ give you x-ray vision?" Gail asked cheekily, pressing the pack to her shoulder.

Holly couldn't help but smirk. "If they did, I would have already known you had a tattoo before now."

Gail laughed. "Rebellious phase in high school," she said, explaining away the Latin words etched in permanent script lettering on Gail's left side, just below the band of her bra. _Semper Ad Meliora._ Holly wasn't fluent in Latin by any means, but she knew enough to decipher that the script said. "'Always towards better things'?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"Hey," Gail protested. "I was seventeen and maybe slightly inebriated."

"Who tattoos an under-aged drunk girl?" Holly asked.

"Yeah, okay, it wasn't my finest decision but at least it's pretty and not like a chicken or something."

"A chicken?"

"Peck," was all Gail said.

"Right," Holly said. "Okay, I think you'll be fine, but keep the ice on it. You're not getting that shirt back on tonight, though. Let me get you something to wear instead."

"No fleece!" Gail called out as Holly left the bathroom. Gail could hear her laughing all the down the hall.

Gail stood, holding the ice pack to her shoulder, and moved to stand in front of the mirror. Oh. That's why Holly had turned red and avoided looking at her once they'd gotten her shirt off. She really needed to do laundry and this particular bra had been one of her last clean ones. In all honesty, she was typically a more of a practical cotton bra kind of girl when it came to work. Her uniform was uncomfortable enough as it was; why add another layer of discomfort?

Gail smirked at how Holly had reacted to seeing her partially undressed.

Then she stopped herself. Wait, why was she grinning like an idiot? Holly's stare should have made her uncomfortable. Shouldn't it have?

Gail studied her face in the mirror as she thought over the last several weeks. Her mind wandered to the mandated therapy session and the doc's skeptical look when Gail had insisted that she wasn't switching teams.

Gail couldn't help but snicker again. They'd just been playing baseball for fuck's sake! The irony of the 'switching teams' comment was not lost on her.

Wait, no, there was no irony. Because she wasn't switching teams, dammit.

A knock on the door startled Gail out of her musings and she jumped, jostling her shoulder. "Ow," she groaned.

"What is it?" Holly said from the other side of the door. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Gail reassured. "Come on in. I'm as decent as I was when you left."

Holly eased the door open, eyes focused on the floor as she held out a dark grey ribbed knit tank top. "A button down would be easier to get on, but it'd be harder to ice your shoulder, so I figured a tank top would work."

"Thanks," Gail sad, taking the shirt. Holly quickly retreated. Gail set the ice pack in the sink and eased the shirt over her head. She didn't even notice the writing on the front until she looked back up into the mirror. "Holly Stewart!" she yelled. Once again she could hear the brunette's laughter ringing out from down the hall.

The tank top had _TEGAN AND SARA _written in big, bold lettering. Surly it was payback for the 'no fleece' comment.

Gail sighed. _Good one, Stewart,_ she thought to herself as she grabbed the ice pack and made her way back downstairs.

"You're hilarious," Gail said, dropping onto the couch next to Holly. "You owe me dinner now. I want pizza."

"I already ordered it while I was getting the shirt."

Gail looked up in surprise. "How did you know I wanted pizza?"

Holly gave her a 'yeah, right' look. "Please, you always want pizza."

"Wrong," Gail interjected. "I never want pizza in the morning. I never understood how people can eat cold pizza for breakfast. That's gross. Oh, or after sex. I always want something sweet after sex. Like chocolate."

Holly shook her head and chuckled, still not completely used to Gail's straightforwardness. "Chocolate? I would have guessed cheese puffs."

Gail shrugged. "Ow, dammit, I really need to stop doing that," she said, removing the ice pack and setting it on the back of the couch while looking down at her shoulder. A knot was already forming, the surrounding flesh turning purple.

Holly scooted forward on the couch to get a better look, leaning in and tracing her fingers gently over Gail's skin. Gail shivered at her touch, inhaling sharply.

"Sorry, are my hands cold?" Holly asked, glancing up at Gail. What she saw made her stop all movements. She was a lot closer to the blonde than she'd realized, their faces only about six inches apart. But that's not what made her pause.

What made her pause was the look in Gail's eyes. And her dilated pupils.

Oh.

She expected Gail to pull back, make some dumb joke, and demand alcohol. But she didn't. What she did do was allow her tongue to peek out to wet her lips.

Gail's heart raced, her palms were sweating. All she could focus on was how close Holly was and wonder what it would be like to kiss her. It would be so easy to just close the distance between them and press their lips together. They'd kissed before, at Frank and Noelle's wedding. This would just like that. Right? (She conveniently ignored the fact that they'd been well on the way to drunk in the back of that coat closet.)

They sat motionless for what felt like ages, but in all actuality was probably only a few seconds.

Then Holly's eyes shifted, just briefly, to Gail's lips.

Gail moved first, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against Holly's in a kiss.

Just like the wedding, right?

Wrong.

Within half a second of their lips meeting, Holly's hand came up to rest on Gail's cheek as they mutually decided to deepen the kiss. Gail's hands came to rest on Holly's denim-clad thighs, just above her knees, in order to brace herself as she leaned into Holly, eyes closed as she got lost in the feel of Holly's lips moving expertly over her own.

Gail let out a soft moan when their tongues met in a delicious tangle. She gripped Holly's legs and shifted forward on the couch, wanting to get closer.

But something very cold and very wet fell against her bare (uninjured, thankfully) shoulder and into her lap. She broke off the kiss with a squeal, looking down at the offending ice pack that had been knocked off the back of the couch, startling her with its sudden coldness.

Gail quickly grabbed the pack and tossed it onto the coffee table before returning her gaze to Holly. She looked equal parts stunned, amused, and aroused. They stared.

Gail couldn't help but make a joke to try and break the tension. "This shirt has magical lesbian powers, doesn't it?"

It worked. Holly's lips curved into that dorky smile that Gail had come to adore so much, then she laughed. "Yeah, you know, I learned how to undo a bra one-handed in that shirt," she shot back. "Must have soaked up all the lesbian knowledge."

Gail attack-kissed Holly then, lunging forward and forgetting all about her shoulder because who the hell can focus on pain with Holly Stewart's lips on yours? Holly yelped in surprise, but quickly recovered, returning Gail's kiss with equal fervor.

But as she felt Gail's hands pressing against her shoulders, she regained her senses. "Gail, wait," she said as she broke the kiss. "Wait. What are we doing here?"

Gail pulled back slightly, now balanced on her knees, and gave Holly a confused look. "Um, I think of the two of us, you should be the one to understand what's happening here," she said.

"No, not that," Holly said, blinking until she realized the blurriness was from her smudged glasses. She took them off and set them on the table, not wanting to deal with cleaning them in that moment. "I meant why? Gail, you're straight."

Gail shrugged. "Well, considering recent events," she said, motioning her hand between the two of them. "I don't think I'm all that straight, either. Because I'm pretty sure 'straight' doesn't entail wanting to do very _not_ straight things with your lady friend."

So much for not switching teams.

Holly felt her cheeks burn again at the thought of doing said 'not straight things' with the blonde. "Oh," she said. Then she cleared her throat. "Okay, maybe, but regardless, I'm not really a friends with benefits kind of girl. So if that's all you want—"

"Neither am I," Gail said. Then she tilted her head to the side. "Well, no that's a lie. I am. Or, at least I used to be." She shook her head, blonde ponytail swishing back and forth behind her. "Whatever. I don't know." She groaned.

Holly sighed. "Gail, what am I to you? Right now?"

"My friend," Gail answered, taking Holly's hand in her own. "But more than that, too. I have other friends, but I don't want to be around them all the time like I do you. And I definitely don't want to make out with any of them. So, I don't know. I'm not good at the whole expressing myself thing, but it's weirdly easy with you. You know more about me after just a few months than anyone I've worked with for nearly five years. And I dated two of those people."

Holly nodded. "Okay," she said slowly. "Gail, I think it's safe to say I like you. As a friend, yes, but also as more. You're an incredible person, Gail."

Gail shook her head and lowered her gaze. "You're the incredible one," she argued. "I'm just a sarcastic bitch on a good day."

"Stop it," Holly said with such force that Gail lifted her head to look at Holly. "I know that's how you think of yourself and how you think others think of you, but I don't, okay? I think you're this witty, fun, badass cop who is just misunderstood."

"So I'm P!nk?"

"P!nk isn't a cop," Holly pointed out.

"Details."

"Anyway, I happen to like you the way you are, so stop putting my friend down, okay?"

"Friend?" Gail questioned. "You make out with all your friends?"

"Just the really hot ones," Holly said with a grin, then she turned serious. "Gail, I don't want to risk our friendship on a whim. I don't make friends easily and I can count on one hand the number of friends who really matter to me and you're currently at the top of that very short list. I'm not willing to risk that if all this is is some experiment or caught-up-in-the-moment kind of thing because—"

Gail figured the most affective and quickest way to get Holly to stop talking was to kiss her, so she did, grabbing the woman's cheeks and pulling her in for another heart-stopping kiss. Holly groaned into it, relaxing against Gail.

Gail finally pulled away, resting her forehead against Holly's. "If this works out it'll be so worth the risk," she murmured. "Because I really like you, Holly Stewart. And I really don't care that you're a woman. This has nothing to do with 'experimenting' because that's not my style." She pulled back slightly to meet Holly's eye. "I just like you."

At that, Holly grabbed Gail's face, almost roughly, and kissed her. This time, it was a frenzied meeting with lips, teeth, and tongue battling for dominance. Gail melted into Holly, sliding her hands beneath the zippered hoodie Holly still wore to settle at her waist.

They finally parted when oxygen became necessary, breathing ragged. Gail grinned. "You should show me that trick now," she said, voice breathy.

"What trick?"

"The one-handed bra removal thing. Apparently I now need it in my arsenal."

They'd just reached the stairs when the doorbell rang.

Holly groaned. "Pizza."

"Pizza can be refrigerated and reheated," Gail said as she continued up the stairs. "You deal with that. I'll be upstairs."

Holly had never been so quick in paying for a pizza in her entire life.


	11. (Not) According to Plan

**PROMPT: ****Gail attempts to plan to sweetly propose to Holly but fails and ends up doing it in the middle of the precinct.**

In retrospect, Gail recognized her error. While she herself wasn't usually one to care that it was her birthday, Holly loved birthdays. They reminded her of a saccharine sweet childhood full of celebratory gatherings and thoughtful gifts. Gail hadn't had the same experience growing up.

So Gail had miscalculated just how pissed Holly would be when Gail 'forgot' it was her birthday.

But she hadn't really forgotten. Please. Gail Peck was a great girlfriend that remembered important dates. Of course she knew it was Holly's birthday. She had this entire thing planned. She was going to let Holly go the entire day thinking she'd forgotten, then surprise her later with a gathering at The Penny.

Everyone was in on it. They were to remember it was Holly's birthday, wish her happy birthday and all that junk, but not tell her about the coming surprise. Gail was going to pick Holly up at the morgue, as usual, and take her to The Penny with a rushed apology for forgetting her birthday, blaming it on the stress of her current workload (which, in all fairness, _had _been ridiculous lately) and promises to make it up to her over the weekend.

Then they'd go into the bar and everyone would do their dumb 'surprise!' because that's the kind of thing Holly loved. They'd eat some cake and drink some champagne (the same kind they'd drank at Frank and Noelle's wedding) and dance a bit. Holly would smile and laugh, asking how she could ever think Gail had forgotten her birthday as they kissed a bit.

Then Gail would pull out all the stops to make it the most memorable birthday night Holly had ever experienced.

She was going to propose. (She'd kept this part of the plan to herself.)

But Holly had ruined the plan by showing up in at the station around noon—this time under the pretense that Gail was just an asshole—and proceeded to chew Gail, who'd been assigned to desk that day, out in the middle of the squad room. She wasn't loud about it—Holly wasn't one to yell—but she still attracted the attention of the other officers milling about the area. They all stared and Gail wanted to curl up in a hole.

"Holly, please, stop," Gail pleaded softly, well-aware of everyone's eyes on them. Most of them were in on the secret party, though, and were trying to hide their amusement. Some were failing. Like Chloe, who literally had to turn around so Holly wouldn't see her laughter.

"No, Gail," Holly fumed. "You know I've had a rough few months. I left a job I loved because I missed your stupid face more than I loved the job, and I've talked about what I wanted for my birthday for weeks. How hard is it to remember a date, Gail?"

Gail knew Holly's outburst was all because of her crappy week. First, one of her interns had mishandled and tainted evidence, possibly ruining the prosecution's case (and she felt responsible). Then there'd been a flood in their basement that had destroyed two boxes that had held photo albums and memories from Holly's youth. Now, she thought Gail had forgotten her birthday.

Yeah, Gail really hadn't thought that one through.

"Holly, just listen to me," Gail said, guiding her girlfriend to sit on the edge of the desk.

"No, were _you_ listening to me?" Holly said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I, yes," Gail insisted. "Just, wait! Stay here."

"Gail," Holly began to protest, but Gail interjected.

"Holly, trust me, okay? Please?"

Gail was begging. Gail never begged. It made Holly pause and really look at her. She was looking at her with imploring eyes. Holly didn't say anything, but Gail saw her shoulders relax.

"I'll be right back." Then Gail rushed off towards the locker room. Dammit how had she messed this up so badly? She felt bad for going ahead with this dumb plan even after the terrible week Holly had been having. She only hoped her surprise would make up for it.

She dug around in her bag that hung in her locker, gripping the little, navy blue velvet box in her hand. She glanced around, ensuring she was alone, then slipped it into her uniform pants' pocket and shut her locker door with a resounding slam. She took a deep breath. She'd wanted this to be special, memorable.

Well, it would be memorable, at least.

Holly was where she'd left her, leaning back against the desk, looking sad. Gail's heart clenched in her chest. She didn't want her to be sad. She was supposed to make her happy. She hoped she could change that.

"Okay, Holly, here's the thing," she started once she was standing in front of the brunette once more. "I didn't forget your birthday."

Holly looked skeptical.

"No, really," Gail said, looking around for help. "You can ask these guys. I had this lame idea to pretend to forget and then surprise you with a party at The Penny with all our friends later."

Holly looked around and noted all the officers and detectives nodding affirmatively. "Oh," she said, turning red. Then she got mad again. "And you thought I'd be okay with you pretending to forget?"

Gail shifted on her feet, ducking her head. "Um, in retrospect, I wish I'd gone about it differently, yes. I'm sorry, really sorry about that, but I hope I'm about to make it up to you."

Her heart was beating something fierce in her chest. Before that moment, she'd never considered a scenario where Holly said no. In her mind, she always gave an amazing speech before asking those four words, and Holly always said yes before kissing her enthusiastically.

But now that the moment was upon her, she was scared shitless that Holly would say no. She couldn't think of rational reason to think Holly may say no, but being rational wasn't always a strength of hers.

She squared her shoulders and reached out to take both of Holly's hands in hers. Holly looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"Okay, so, I had this whole thing planned out where I was going to take you to The Penny after work and everyone would be all 'surprise!' and all that jazz and then you'd realize that I'm not a jerk who forgot your birthday. Then you'd blow out the candles on the cake I ordered from your favorite bakery and people would give you stupid gifts while we shared a bottle of the same fancy champagne we drank at Frank and Noelle's wedding." She paused and took a deep breath. "Then I was going to give you this."

She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the box, holding it in front of her.

Holly gasped. "Gail," she whispered, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. She already felt the first sting of tears burning behind her eyelids.

The entire room became silent as Gail spoke, but neither women noticed anyone else in that moment. So they didn't notice that Traci had pulled out her iPhone to record the scene.

"I had this horribly sappy speech planned, but that's not really me, so I'm just going to say this. You've made me a better person, and I want to keep growing with you by my side, encouraging and supporting me in that way that no one else has ever done. And I want to do that same for you. I can't imagine not spending the rest of my life with you because I love you so much. And I just want to do everything I can to try and make you happy for as long as I live. So, Holly Stewart," she eased the box open as she dropped to one knee. "Will you marry me?"

Once again, in retrospect, Gail would laugh at her irrational fear that Holly may say no. But she was still surprised by the ferocity in which Holly tackled her with, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground as she embraced Gail, who was still on bended knee.

"Is that a yes?" Gail asked, pulling back to look at Holly, who had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yes, yes!" And then she kissed her as applause and whistles thundered in the squad room.

"Way to go, Peck!" Gail heard Oliver yell, reminding her of their surroundings. She pulled back and felt her face turn red, but she had a wide, ecstatic smile on her face, matching that of Holly's. She pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto Holly's left ring finger, thankful that it seemed to be a perfect fit. (She'd taken one of Holly's rings to the jeweler to get a best guess for the sizing.) The ring was a simple cut, but stunning in its simplicity, which is why Gail had immediately known it was 'the' ring.

Gail helped Holly into a standing position, and they suddenly found themselves surrounded by cops offering their congratulations and well-wishes. And for once, Gail didn't care about the attention. Because all she could focus on was Holly.

Holly. Her fiancée.


	12. Matchmaker Matchmaker

**PROMPT: ****Toronto Police and Forensics are hosting their annual internal Valentine's Day fundraiser. Employees can fill in a fun questionnaire which supposedly yields a list of compatible dates. This year, Gail actually decides to participate & ends up being 94% compatible with a "Holly Stewart". Having never heard of this person, & amused she was paired with a woman, Gail seeks her out, only to realize that they couldn't be more different. And that's exactly why Gail falls for her. **

**PART 1**

"Come on, Peck," Andy implored. "It's for a good cause. All the proceeds are going to Street Kids International."

Gail groaned. "No," she said for the fifteenth time. "I'll just donate twice the amount directly to the charity myself. I don't need to be 'matched up' based on some dumb questionnaire."

"Oh, come on, Gail," Chloe butted in, holding up her own survey with '_Match Maker, Match Maker, Make Me a Match_,' in big, bold letters at the top. "It's fun! And we'll all get a laugh at who we're matched with."

Gail slumped down in her chair in the parade room, glaring when Chloe pulled out the seat next to her to sit. "Why are you even filling that out, anyway? You and Dov are like the nerd empire's king and queen."

Chloe shrugged. "Because it's for charity and it'll be fun to see if Dov and I are matched up."

"Sure, until you're matched with some other bozo and Dov gets all jealous," Gail said, turning her attention to the front of the room as Best made his way to the front of the room.

"He wouldn't get jealous," she heard Chloe say to Andy. "Would he?"

Gail just smirked as Best began the morning meeting. It was the usual informational stuff, until he held up one of the questionnaires. "As you've probably all heard, this year's Valentine's Day charity drive at fifteen is a joint-effort affair between Toronto Police and Forensics. We encourage you all to fill out these questionnaires to see who your 'perfect match' is. You'll be able to buy your results for fifty dollars and all the proceeds will go to charity. I ask that all of you participate." He looked directly at Gail as he said those words. "I don't care what you do with your results, but it's for a good cause, people. So have fun. You can pick up a survey from Officer McNally or Officer Price. Assignments for the day are on the board; go be good cops."

Crap. Best had pretty much said it was mandatory. Maybe she could still get out of it—

A large, dark hand slapped the table in front of her, a questionnaire between it and the table. Gail glanced up. "Fill it out, Peck."

"Yes, sir," she muttered, grabbing the paper.

She didn't fill it out until ten minutes before it was due. She thought about just putting random answers down, but she was sure that with her luck, she'd end up being matched with some dork forensics intern that would end up stalking her.

So she actually read each multiple-choice question and answered honestly. Most of them were dumb—which of the following would you prefer for date night? Favorite type of food? Favorite music to listen to?—that kind of crap. But towards the end, the questions actually made her think. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Two weeks later and fifty bucks poorer, Gail begrudgingly took the envelope with her name written on the front from Chloe with an unimpressed glare. "Congratulations, Peck," Chloe said. "You managed to get one of the highest match rates with a whopping ninety-four per cent. I only got an eighty-seven per cent match. And it wasn't even Dov."

Gail didn't reply. She just rolled her eyes and turned to leave the room. She was just going to toss the results. That was the plan. She was just going drop the entire envelope into the trash can and forget all about the stupid thing.

She lasted all of five minutes.

Hating herself just a little bit from her curiosity (seriously, ninety-four per cent?!), she looked around the locker room to ensure no one was around, then ripped the sealed envelope open. She scanned the page for the results, her eyes settling on the name of her match.

Holly Stewart, M.D.

What the fuck? That was a chick. Or a dude with a chick name.

The original questionnaire was included in the envelope and she took another glance at it, searching for the 'interested in' question… Oh. Whoops. She must have accidentally marked 'women' instead of her intended 'men.' That was probably when her phone had chimed with a text from Chloe reminding her to turn in her survey, distracting her.

Regardless, she found herself still intrigued by this Holly Stewart, M.D. Who was this woman who was supposedly a ninety-four per cent match for her? You know, if she was into women.

She already knew two things about the mystery woman: one, she was from forensics based upon the 'M.D.' after her name, and two, she was a lesbian. (Or maybe bisexual.) But that's all Gail could ascertain from the info on the page in front of her. Well, that and the fact that they were supposedly perfect for one another.

For some reason Gail was unable to explain (or just plain unwilling to acknowledge), she needed to meet this woman.

Everyone was surprised to hear Gail volunteer to run a piece of evidence to the morgue, something she would usually pawn off on other officers. She ignored the questioning looks and took the evidence bag Swarek handed her. Perfect.

At the morgue, she was met by some guy who took the evidence (tissue samples) and began performing tests. Gail leaned against the wall opposite the main door, observing until she couldn't take it any longer. "Hey, is there a woman named Holly Stewart that works here?" she asked, trying to sound casual. The guy—she thinks his name was Roger or Rodney or something—looked up.

"Uh, Doctor Stewart?" he said. "Yeah, she's one of the lead pathologists. Why?"

Gail shrugged. "Just curious."

Roger—or was it Rodney?—told her it would take a while to get DNA, so Gail left the lab, intent on doing some investigating. And by 'investigating,' she meant snooping until she found the woman.

She rounded a corner and slammed right into another person. They both managed to remain on their feet, but Gail had to reach out and grip the woman's arms to keep them steady.

"Whoa, maybe watch where you're going there, officer," the woman said, reaching up to straighten her glasses and readjust the strap of a red cooler-looking thing on her shoulder. Normally, Gail would take offense and rattle off some snarky, bitchy comeback, but the woman said with words with a teasing smile and Gail found herself chuckling in response.

"Likewise, Lunchbox," she said, dropping her hands and stepping back, sure they were both steady once more.

The woman was about to make another comment, but she paused as her eyes flickered downwards. "Oh, wait, Peck?" she asked, noting the name on Gail's uniform jacket.

"Yeah, yeah," Gail said, sighing. She hated this. Hated how her name was all some people saw. "Of the police royalty Pecks. Daughter of Elaine and Bill Peck, yada yada yada." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Who?" the woman asked, looking confused.

"Uh, wait, really? Superintendent Elaine Peck? Inspector Bill Peck?"

The woman shrugged. "I've only been here a few weeks."

"Oh," Gail said. "Right. Okay. No, wait, then why'd you say 'Peck' like you recognized the name?" Then it dawned on her. "Oh! You're Dr. Stewart?"

"Holly, please," Holly said. "And you must be Gail Peck." She offered her hand.

Gail smiled and took the proffered hand, nearly jumping at the way her heart began to race as they shook hands. Well, that was… interesting.

"Hey, uh, listen I'm actually about to be late for a meeting with my boss," Holly said, nervously glancing at her watch. "So, um, I'll be blunt here. I don't really know anyone here in Toronto yet and I don't know if I really trust a silly match-making survey to find me a date, but I'd still like to take you out for a drink or something tonight? There's that bar that all the cops go to, right? The Black Penny, I think it's called?"

Damn, she should tell her about the mistake she'd made on her survey. "Oh, uh, yeah, it's, um… sure, I guess." Wait, what?

"Great!" Holly said with a wide smile. "Seven?"

Tell, her Peck. "Sounds good." Goddammit.

"Perfect," Holly said, moving to slide past Gail. "I'll see you then." She took off down the hallway, leaving behind a stunned Gail.

What the hell just happened?

Did she… oh fuck, did she have a _date_ with a woman?!

* * *

**PART 2**

Gail refused to acknowledge why she so carefully chose a casual but flattering outfit—dark wash jeans and a fitted blue t-shirt that had a deep v-neck, and her favorite black leather bomber jacket—to wear for her 'date' with her so-called 'perfect match.' Or why she took the time to carefully reapply her makeup, make sure every hair on her head was in place, and spritz on her favorite perfume.

She pushed the door of The Penny open, stepping into the bar as she looked around for a head of dark hair and sexy librarian glasses. She was a few minutes early, so when she didn't immediately see the doctor, she strode to the bar and ordered a jack and coke, hoping to calm her nerves.

"I'll have the same," a voice said from her right.

Gail wasn't sure what she was expecting—probably something more along the lines of the woman with the nerd glasses and hair pulled back into a bun that she'd met that afternoon—but it wasn't the stunning woman that stood before her now. Holly had been striking before, but now, with her long dark hair falling freely around her shoulders in soft waves. Gone were the glasses, presumably replaced by contacts. And the jeans and slightly-too-big sweater she'd worn beneath her lab coat had been replaced by form-fitting black skinny pants and a flow-y cream colored blouse that had a row of buttons halfway down the front. She'd left just enough undone to show a hint of cleavage.

Why had Gail noticed that? She wasn't supposed to notice and appreciate things like that.

"Hey," Gail finally greeted, throat dry. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first."

Holly smiled. "I'm choosing to take that as a compliment," she said as she slid enough cash to the bartender to cover both drinks and a generous tip. She grabbed both drinks and handed one to Gail.

"Thanks," Gail said, sipping the liquid courage. "And definitely a compliment." She smiled.

_Peck, seriously, stop flirting. _

"Good," Holly said. "You clean up nice yourself. Should we find a table?"

"Uh, yeah," Gail said. "Sure." She let Holly lead the way to an empty table near the back, vowing that she would mention her mistake as soon as they sat down.

But Holly spoke as soon as they sat. "So, how was the rest of your shift?"

It surprised Gail that Holly seemed genuinely interested in her day. She barely knew her, yet she appeared to care more than most of Gail's friends. "It was… long," Gail said honestly. "Boring."

Holly narrowed her eyes, a slight smirk on her lips. "Didn't you spend most of it in the lab?"

"Yep," Gail said, taking another drink. "So, like I said, boring." She grinned as she leaned back in her chair.

_Tell her, Peck._

Holly let out a laugh and Gail tried to figure out why the sound made her stomach flutter and her pulse race. "Well, you've never spent a day in the lab with me," Holly said. "I could show you just how fun an autopsy can be."

Gail shook her head and groaned. "Not happening, nerd," she said. "Nothing will convince me that cutting open dead people is fun."

"Hmm, they were right," Holly said, studying Gail carefully.

"Who was right about what?" Gail asked, weary.

"I asked around about you after our collision in the hallway," Holly explained.

"Oh," Gail said, smile fading. "Let me guess, the words 'sarcastic bitch' came up a lot?"

"Maybe a little, but I was referring to the assertion that you're straightforward and blunt. They were definitely right about that."

"And the rest of it?" Gail asked.

Holly shrugged. "I'm still making up my mind. But I think they just don't know you well enough to look past a tough outer shell."

Okay, who was this chick? And why did she always say just the right thing?

"I also heard something else that was pretty interesting," Holly said, leaning in and lowering her voice.

"What's that?"

Holly offered an amused smile. "Everyone I talked to was pretty sure you're straight. Only recently broke things off with a fellow male officer."

Shit. Gail closed her eyes and braced herself for what was sure to be an angry rant, but when there was none, she eased her eyes open to meet the curious brown ones of the doctor.

"Okay, yeah, I don't know what happened," Gail said. "No, that's not true. I know exactly what happened. I accidentally put that I was interested in women on my survey because freaking Chloe distracted me and they matched me with you. I was going to tell you as soon as we sat down, but you started talking…" She trailed off with a shrug.

"Why didn't you mention it in the hallway?" Holly asked. "I mean, I asked you on a date and you said yes… One would think you'd have mentioned it then. So why didn't you?"

"Um," Gail said, unsure what to say. Then she sighed. "You know, I really don't know."

Holly seemed to accept that answer, as wishy-washy as it was. "But you are straight?" She seemed a bit sad at that, which made Gail sit up a bit straighter in her chair, clutching her drink in both hands.

Gail shrugged. "I guess?"

Holly raised an elegant eyebrow. "You don't know if you're straight or not?"

Gail chuckled. "I always just assumed I was, but I didn't really even think twice about accepting a date with you—and I'm not dumb; knew it was a date—so maybe? I don't know." She shrugged as if it weren't a big deal and Holly was equal parts amused and baffled.

"You really are a unique individual, aren't you?" Holly asked. "Most people would freak out when questioning their sexuality at, what are you? Twenty-eight or so?"

"Twenty-nine," Gail corrected. "Thirty in November. And I wouldn't say I'm not freaking out just a little bit, to be honest."

"You hide it well."

"Lifetime of practice," Gail said with a shrug. "You grow up in the Peck household, you learn to not show any emotion that could be perceived as vulnerability or weakness."

"That bad?" Holly asked, knitting her brow. She'd also around asked about the Peck name and the information had been intimidating at best. She studied the blonde carefully, noting the tension that had settled in her jaw at the mention of her family.

"It's… complicated," Gail said. "I'm not saying it was completely awful. I know it could have been a lot worse. But my mom and I don't always see eye to eye." She shrugged again. "Why am I talking about this?" she asked, looking surprised. "I never talk about my family on a first date."

Holly's eyebrows shot up. "I thought we established this wasn't a date?"

Gail tilted her head to the side. "I don't think we did," she pointed out. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something?"

"My mistake," Holly said. "And am I supposed to be a genius? Not all doctors are geniuses. Actually, most are simply gifted."

"See, the fact that you knew that, and felt the need to inform me of it, tells me that you're more than simply gifted," Gail said.

"That's your only piece of evidence?" Holly questioned, folding her arms on the table in front of her.

Gail smirked. "I'm a cop." That was all the explanation she offered. Holly didn't argue.

A silence fell between them, and Gail took the opportunity to reflect. She'd been truthful when she'd told Holly that she was freaking out a bit on the inside. Because she wasn't sure that 'straight' entailed wondering what it would feel like to—

No. No, she wasn't going to think about that. Not now.

But, in all honesty, the main reason she was freaking out was that she wasn't freaking out about finding herself attracted to another woman.

Because there was no way around it—she was attracted to Holly Stewart.

* * *

**PART 3**

Gail was genuinely shocked when she glanced at her watch and noted the time. It was nearing ten o'clock. Which meant that they'd been sitting at the table near the back of the bar for almost three hours, just talking.

_And flirting, Peck. Don't forget the flirting._

It was weird to Gail that it wasn't weird. Conversing this much with someone who was practically a stranger—hell, talking to _anyone_ this much—was not something she did. Ever. Unless she was drunk. But she'd only had two drinks.

They hadn't discussed Gail's maybe-wavering sexuality or whether or not this was a date after the initial conversation. But they did discuss their jobs—Gail would never admit it, but she was grossly fascinated by Holly's profession—and even touched on their career goals. Holly listened with a sympathetic expression as Gail explained that her parents (aka her mother) wanted her to work her way up the ranks.

"But what do _you_ want?" Holly had asked.

That's what made Gail decide this woman was a keeper. In exactly what capacity, she wasn't sure just yet.

It also became apparent to Gail very quickly that they were very alike in some ways, such as their general hatred of fancy gatherings like weddings and galas and their mutual love of good food (though their definitions of 'good' contrasted greatly), but in most ways, they were very different. Gail wondered how they'd managed a ninety-four per cent compatibility when they were so very different.

Because in all actuality, they had very little in common.

But that only further fueled Gail's intrigue.

"Damn, it's almost ten o'clock," Gail said reluctantly. "I hate to, but I should head home. Early shift tomorrow."

Holly nodded. "Same. Do you need a ride or something?"

Gail glanced around. "Uh, I caught a ride here with my roommate." She spotted Dov practically eating Chloe's face and grimaced in disgust. "But he looks to be content swapping spit with his new girlfriend, so…" She trailed off.

Holly chuckled. "It's alright, I can give you a ride." She stood and grabbed her jacket. Gail followed suit.

Gail smirked. "You don't even know where I live. And I bet you live in the nice part of town, which is the opposite direction of my apartment."

"And how would you know where I live?" Holly asked, shrugging into her coat.

Shit, there was that flirtatious smile again that should make Gail feel uncomfortable but had the complete opposite effect on her.

Gail gave Holly a once over, unwilling to admit that her eyes lingered on certain areas. "Like I said, I'm a cop. It's my job to know these things." She moved past Holly towards the exit, stepping perhaps a bit closer than strictly necessary before continuing towards the door without even pausing to see if Holly followed.

Holly just shook her head slightly and, with an amused grin, followed the blonde.

Gail groaned when she stepped outside The Penny. Great. It was raining. Not hard, it was barely more than a drizzle, but still enough to make standing out there too long miserable. She sighed.

"Should have accepted that ride, Officer Peck," Holly said as she appeared at Gail's side. She grinned. "Goodnight, then." She pulled out an umbrella and opened it as she began to walk towards the parking lot, leaving behind a stunned Gail.

"Wait, seriously?!" Gail called out.

Holly turned, walking backwards in the rain as she smiled. "Better hurry if you want any umbrella action." She turned back to face forward and continued walking.

Gail sprinted without a second thought, quickly catching up to the brunette and huddling under the umbrella. Even over the smell of rain, Gail caught a whiff of something sweet, like coconuts, permeating from Holly. She grinned and huddled even closer under the pretense of shielding herself from the rain.

In Holly's car (Gail smirked at newer model BMW hybrid SUV, but didn't comment), Gail directed Holly towards the apartment she shared with Dov as she fiddled with the radio. She blanched at all the presets, giving Holly 'are you serious?' looks at the odd collection of music ranging from classical to jazz to a cheesy top 40s station. She was about to give up all hope of ever forming a relationship of any sort with the woman when she pressed the last preset.

"Finally!" she cried out, turning up the volume as Queen's 'Somebody to Love' reverberated throughout the SUV. "I was just about to lose all hope for you, Stewart."

Holly laughed. "Eighty's rock does it for you?"

"Queen does," Gail said. "I grew up with Queen. Oh, and Journey, Pink Floyd, AC/DC… they just don't make music like that these days."

Holly nodded in agreement, then glanced over to the blonde having her own private dance party in her seat. She chuckled. "Grew up with? Somehow the parents you painted a picture of in my head aren't Queen fans."

Gail scrunched her face up. "Oh, hell no. My mother doesn't know good music. And my dad is more of a Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen kind of guy. No, Laura, my nanny growing up, introduced me to the magic of Queen."

Holly executed a turn as she raised her eyebrows. "You had a nanny?"

Gail nodded. "My mother was more interested in kissing ass to climb the law enforcement ladder to be a present mother figure, so she hired Laura to do it for her when I was two and my brother Steve was ten. She was with us until I was sixteen and able to fend for myself."

"Wow," Holly said. "That sounds… miserable, to be honest."

"Miserable? How so?"

Holly shrugged. "I guess I'm biased because my mom and I have always been really close. I can't imagine having a nanny more present than her."

Gail mirrored the shrug. "Laura was like an older sister, so by the time I realized most kids didn't have a nanny, I didn't see her as a nanny but as family. But yeah, sometimes I wished I had a closer relationship with my mom. Then we'd have an actual conversation and I found myself grateful for Laura's presence."

Holly's heart broke for Gail in that moment, mainly because of Gail's blasé attitude towards the topic. She herself really did have a great relationship with her mother and wished Gail could know what that was like.

"My mother isn't a bad person," Gail continued, unaware of Holly's inner turmoil. "She's just a workaholic." She turned in the passenger seat to look at Holly. "It's probably the reason I'm such a bitch, though."

Holly scowled and glanced over at Gail. "You're not a bitch, Gail," she said. "I think you just hide behind a wall that appears to be bitchy. But behind that wall is the real Gail."

Gail snorted. "That was so lame," she said with a groan.

Holly laughed. "Okay, maybe it was, but I still think it's true. Not once were you a bitch to me tonight. Why do you think that is?"

"You didn't piss me off," Gail answered truthfully. Holly laughed again, but Gail cut her off. "No, I'm serious. I usually only go all mean girl when someone annoys me or pisses me off. Which is usually everyone almost all the time, but you didn't." She pointed ahead of them.  
"It's the next building on the right," she said. Holly pulled to a stop next to the curb, but Gail didn't make a move to exit, so Holly turned off the ignition and turned towards the blonde.

"Okay, so I didn't annoy you like most others do," Holly repeated. "Why not?"

Gail shrugged. "I don't know. Probably because you don't focus on my name—the Peck legacy. Most people only see me as a white shirt snob waiting to happen, even though I'm not even sure I ever want to be a white shirt, much to the dismay of my mother."

"Ah," Holly said in understanding. "And I don't care about the legacy."

Gail nodded. "Yeah," she said. "So you actually talked to me like I was a real person and not a future boss. It was refreshing, to be honest."

"For the record, I'd have talked to you like a real person even if I had already know of the Peck legacy," Holly said.

Gail believed her.

"Give me your phone," Gail said suddenly.

Holly was thrown by the abrupt change of topic, but dug her iPhone out of her pocket, knowing exactly what Gail wanted. She unlocked it and handed it to the blonde. Gail took the phone and input her number into the contacts before sending herself a text so she'd have Holly's number as well. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

"Here," she said, handing the phone back to Holly.

Holly looked at the screen, then up at the grinning blonde. "Officer Sexy? Really?"

"What? Don't you think it's true?" Gail gave her a flirty grin, fully expecting Holly to play it off with a bad joke or something.

But Holly returned the flirty grin and locked her phone. "Well, sure, of course I do, but I'm imagining you calling me while I'm working and my intern having to answer my phone because I'm elbow deep in a chest cavity."

"Gross."

"Imagine little Peter seeing 'Officer Sexy calling' oh my god," Holly said, laughing. "That poor kid would have a heart attack."

"Hey, let's add a contact photo of me so he can also have an aneurysm."

Holly barked out a laugh. "I'd rather not kill the poor guy. He's actually quite competent for an intern."

Gail shrugged. "His loss," she said. "Yours too. You won't be able to stare longingly at my picture all day."

Holly shook her head with another chuckle. "I think I'll survive."

Gail glanced out of the car and noted that the rain had stopped. "I should probably get inside before it starts raining again," she said as she undid the seatbelt.

"Yeah," Holly agreed, undoing her own seatbelt. Gail gave her a funny look. "Some bozo hit the passenger door a few weeks ago in a parking lot," Holly explained. "My second day in the city, actually. It won't open from the inside. I need to get that fixed, but I've been busy settling in."

Gail tried the handle anyway. "Yeah, you're right. It won't open."

Holly rolled her eyes and got out of the car. She rounded the front and opened Gail's door.

"Bought me a drink, drove me home, now you're opening the car door for me," Gail said as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Are you gonna walk me up to my door, too?" she joked.

"Yep," Holly said without pause.

Gail laughed. "I was kidding."

"I'm not," Holly said. She grabbed Gail's arm and started towards the front door of the building.

Gail let herself be led without a second thought. It wasn't until they were standing in front of the apartment door that she realized that she'd given up a bit of control. Huh. Weird.

"Seriously," Gail said, digging in her purse for her keys. "You didn't have to walk me up." She pulled her keys out and looked towards the brunette, startled to find her standing closer than before. There was that damn coconut scent again. It made her lightheaded.

"Yeah, I kinda did," Holly said, voice low and husky.

"Why?" Gail asked, licking her lips and swallowing hard.

"So I could do this without the fear of passers-by gawking," she said, moving closer still.

Gail's breath hitched in her throat, her heart beat a mile a minute as Holly placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in, but she didn't even consider stepping back. In fact, she almost whimpered in protest when Holly paused barely an inch away, giving Gail a final opportunity to pull back.

But Gail didn't pull back. Instead, she brought her hand up to trace along Holly's jaw to cup her cheek as she closed the final distance between them. Their lips touched and Gail let out a soft moan at the feel of impossibly soft, lush lips against her own.

Holly moved her lips in a delicate dance upon Gail's, but didn't move to deepen it. It was meant to be a tease, after all. And it seemed to work. Because when she pulled back after only a few seconds, Gail actually canted forward, eyes still closed.

"Sweet dreams, Gail," Holly whispered. And with that, she was gone.

* * *

**PART 4**

Gail didn't remember unlocking the door and entering the darkened apartment, nor did she remember stripping off her clothes and jumping in the shower. No memory existed of drying off or redressing in her pajamas.

Nope, all she could remember was kissing Holly.

And yes, she kissed Holly. Holly may have been the one to lean in first, but Gail had been the one to press their lips together. She was certain Holly had set it up that way on purpose so as to give Gail a chance to tactfully avoid the kiss if she wanted to.

She definitely hadn't wanted to avoid the kiss.

Actually, she found herself wanting more kisses. A lot more. She had to force her brain to stop at just kissing. She was not ready to think about what happens _after_ 'just kissing.'

Gail stared at the ceiling in the dark room as she went over the day in her head. It had started off so normal. She'd bitched at Dov that morning for bringing Chloe over for yet another sleepover that didn't involve much sleeping and did involve Gail wishing the walls were thicker. And sound proof. Then parade had been business as usual until Frank had mentioned that the Valentine's Day charity matchmaker results were in. "See Officer Price to purchase your results."

Officer Price. Chloe. The woman who'd distracted Gail while she was filling out the damn questionnaire and made her put down 'women' instead of 'men.'

Gail honestly didn't know if she wanted to strangle or hug the redhead. If she were a hugger, that is.

Then there was Holly. It had been only—Gail glanced at the clock—eleven hours since they'd nearly plowed into one another in the Morgue hallway. Yet Gail felt like she'd known the other woman for years. She'd opened up to Holly more than she had any of her friends that she'd known for years.

And then that kiss.

Goddamn, that kiss.

It had barely been more than a few seconds of lips touching. But it had sparked something in Gail that she hadn't felt in a long, long time. Or, well, ever really.

Shit, _was_ she gay?

She turned onto her side and stared into the darkness, gauging her reaction at the idea. She was weirdly okay. All the stories she's heard about people discovering their true sexuality in their late twenties involved denial and freaking out.

She didn't feel the need to do any of that.

No, what she needed was to ask Holly out for another date (because after that kiss, drinks at The Penny had definitely been a date).

She was just about to reach for her phone when it chimed from its position on her nightstand, the display lighting up the room. Gail laughed aloud when she looked at the screen and read the message.

_H: You taste like cherries._

The message was from just a number, no contact name, but Gail knew it was Holly. She quickly typed out a reply.

_G: That's what happens when you put on cherry flavored lip balm ;)_

There was that flirting again. Damn.

Gail quickly saved the number to her contacts under the name 'Queen of the Nerds.' Then she typed out another message before Holly could even respond to the first one she'd sent.

_G: Take me out to dinner tomorrow. I'm done at five. _

She could practically hear Holly's laughter as waited for a reply.

_H: Shouldn't you be asking me out? I asked you for drinks, after all. _

Gail snorted, grinning like a freaking idiot at her phone.

_G: Shhh no. Take me to dinner. I'll make it worth your while, I promise._

_H: In that case, I'll pick you up at your place at 7? _

_G: Sounds good. Wear something sexy. _

_H: I always do ;)_

The following day seemed to drag on for Gail. She'd been kicked by a suspect and when she finally tackled him to the ground, he'd bitten her hand. Thank god she'd been wearing her police-issued leather gloves. Then, as she and her partner for the day—Chloe of all people—were bringing the suspect into booking, he'd used his entire body weight to push her into the metal doorframe that led from the sally port to holding.

It had taken all of Gail's self-control not to smash his face into the wall. Repeatedly. Until there was blood. Lots and lots of blood. But she really didn't want to face a police brutality lawsuit.

But damn, her shoulder hurt where he'd forced her into the doorframe.

She was exiting the locker room after changing into a clean uniform (she'd also landed in a puddle of soda that the suspect had dropped as she'd apprehended him) and was fiddling with her service belt when she felt a presence beside her. She smelled coconuts.

"Did I mention that there's something about a woman in uniform that I find incredibly…" Holly trailed off as she thought of the right word.

"Sexy?" Gail supplied. "Hot? Badass?"

"Breathtaking," Holly finished. "Particularly when paired with blond hair, blue eyes, and snarky bite hiding a soft interior."

Gail swallowed. "You're quite insistent about that hard shell thing, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

Gail shook her head, then looked at Holly inquisitively. Her glasses were back (and Gail found herself preferring them to Holly's contacts) but her hair was still down to fall around her shoulders. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Holly hooked a thumb over her shoulder towards the squad room. "I had to go over a few case details with Detective Nash for a case."

Gail placed her hands on her hips, just above her belt. "Uh huh, don't they usually go to you? To the morgue?"

Holly shrugged, trying to play it off. "You know, figured I'd be nice and save them a trip…"

"Right," Gail said with a smirk. She stepped around Holly and moved down the hallway, hoping Holly would follow. She had trouble hiding her smile when she heard the brunette's footsteps behind her.

"Hey, wait, can we talk about something for a few minutes?"

Gail paused and glanced at her watch, pretending she was pressed for time. (Really, she'd used this as her lunch break and still had twenty minutes left.) "Uh, sure, I guess," she said, facing Holly. "What's up?"

Holly glanced around, noting the mostly empty but still not entirely private hallway. "Um, not here," she said, grabbing Gail's arm and guided her into an observation room, the door closing behind them. "Okay, I have to know something," Holly started as she turned to face Gail.

"What?" Gail asked, holding back a snarky comment because she noticed the seriousness of Holly's tone.

Holly licked her lips and regarded the blonde cop closely, wanting to be able to gauge her reaction to the conversation. "What exactly is going on here?"

Gail knit her eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean? _You_ dragged _me_ in here."

"No, I don't mean _here_, I mean us," Holly clarified. "I mean, I know we've only known one another for a day, but I think we both had a really good time last night. But I've done the whole fall for a straight girl thing and I gotta say, it really, really sucks and I ended up losing a great friend. I don't want to go through that again. So, if you're not sure about this or me or if you just want to call it off and just be friends, I need to know now before I—mmph."

Gail cut off Holly's speech with her lips, kissing the brunette who momentarily tensed in surprise. But she soon relaxed and kissed Gail back, bringing her hands up to cup the blonde's cheeks. Gail's own hands settled on Holly's waist below her heather grey blazer.

This kiss was much different than the one in front of Gail's apartment door. Still soft and sweet, but full of promise and intrigue. Gail let out a soft whimper as Holly nipped at her upper lip.

_Goddamn, this woman knew how to kiss. _

Gail found herself parting her lips without question, seeking out Holly's tongue with her own. Holly obliged, but only for a few seconds before pulling back to just look at Gail.

"So, I did that," Gail said after a few seconds of silence.

"And how do you feel about it?" Holly asked, voice tight with emotion.

Gail trapped her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought. Then she gripped Holly's waist a bit tighter, pulling her forward ever so slightly. "Like I want to do it again."

And so she did.


End file.
